Keeping
water away from nuclear waste |
Throughout history, people have used science to
solve problems. In fact, we can define science as
using what we know to figure out better ways of
doing things. The more we know, the more we can
solve difficult problems.
Scientists are also using what we know to come up
with a way to safely dispose of nuclear
waste so that it can never harm people or the
environment. To do this, we need to solve some very
difficult problems:
- Nuclear waste will stay radioactive
for thousands and thousands of years, so we
need to figure out how to store it so it won't
ever harm people or the environment.
- If enough water contacted the nuclear waste,
over a long, long time, it could eventually
cause it to rust and corrode (like rust affects
a bicycle if you leave it out in wet weather
for a long time). The rust on nuclear waste
would also be radioactive and water could carry
tiny radioactive particles from the rust into
people's drinking water. If the water ends up
having enough of these particles in it, people
who drink a lot of that water could get sick.
So we need to figure out ways to keep the waste
dry for thousands and thousands of years.
How would you solve these problems?
Last reviewed 06/07 |
