Department of Interior -- U.S. Geological Survey -- USGS Marine and Coastal Geology Program


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Storage of Low-Level Waste

A possible benefit of the bolide impact is that some of the dome-shaped structures formed by the warping of the confining bed above the breccia might be appropriate structures into which wastes could be injected. It would not significantly contaminate the ground water, because the brine already is unfit for use. Alternatively, the highly-fractured granitic rocks of the basement might provide enough pore space to store wastes.

Neither example is very practical in the short term, given the high-sensitivity of bay citizens to the possibility of environmental contamination. But in the future, we may be desperate enough to take advantage of non-traditional disposal sites, such as these.


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Last Modified: July 17, 1996