A
Solution: Yucca Mountain Repository |
For over forty years, some of the world's top scientists
have been working to figure out the safest way to
take care of nuclear
waste. They have looked at many different
options such as shooting it into outer
space, putting it into the ocean
floor, or burying it in polar
ice caps. After much study, they decided the
best way to dispose of nuclear waste is to put it
deep underground. The place they decided on was
Yucca
Mountain in Nevada.
Yucca Mountain does not get much rain. When it does
rain, most of the water dries up or is used by plants,
so not much of it soaks into the ground. Yucca Mountain
is made of layers of a type of volcanic rock called
tuff. The only way water moves in the mountain is
through cracks in the rock.
Scientists plan to put the waste in miles of tunnels
drilled into the rock deep underground, in fact,
about 1000 feet below Yucca Mountain's surface.
Deep inside these tunnels, the rock will keep radiation
away from people and the environment. But if water
got to the waste, over a very long time it could
eventually break it down into tiny radioactive particles
and then carry those particles into the groundwater.
To prevent water from getting to the waste, scientists
plan to seal it inside special metal containers
(called
waste packages). The type of metal they will
make the containers out of is extremely strong and
takes thousands of years to even start rusting.
They will also put covers over the containers (called
drip shields) to help keep the waste packages
dry. The drip shields will be made of another kind
of metal that resists rust.
The scientists' studies show that deep down in Yucca
Mountain's dry rock, the waste packages and drip
shields will protect the waste for more than 80,000
years! (To give an idea of how long that is, the
ancient Egyptians built the pyramids
about 5,000 years ago.)
So did we solve the problem of storing nuclear waste?
Not exactly. Since we're dealing with people's safety,
we must question whether the scientists' studies
and conclusions are correct and what would happen
if they're wrong. In addition, scientists must study
things like what are the chances of earthquakes
and volcanoes,
and what would happen if something like this were
to occur in the future.
This is what the Yucca Mountain Project is all about
— using our scientific knowledge to see if
it would be safe (both now and in the future) to
put nuclear waste deep under Yucca Mountain.
Last reviewed: 06/08 |
