Posted on 03/06/2015 5:23:26 AM PST by thackney
...Deep_Borehole_Disposal and is pretty easy for some nuclear waste. Especially some highly radioactive materials that have sat in some fairly small capsules for almost 40 years.
...topic of discussion in Washington this week when Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz answered questions from Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) at a House Science, Space and Technology committee hearing.
The answer from Moniz was positive. He discussed a pilot project that would demonstrate the idea of deep borehole disposal using these capsules.
Deep borehole disposal is simple. Drill a very deep hole – 3 miles or so – put the waste in it and fill it up with some special layers, but mainly crushed rock and cement. As geologists, we know how many millions of years it takes for anything to get up from that depth in the Earth’s crust.
As long as you don’t put it under an active volcano!
The nice thing about deep borehole disposal is that it doesn’t matter where you put it in the country. At that depth, you’re so deep in the crust that the overlying rocks don’t matter. The water table doesn’t matter. The climate doesn’t matter. Human activities don’t matter.
But why these capsules? Because the material, cesium-137 and strontium-90 chloride salts (137CsCl and 90SrCl2), is in an easy waste form compared to that sludgy gooey stuff that makes up most of the tank waste left over from weapons production. These capsules are dry solid material in relatively small containers – less than 3-inches in diameter and only 2-feet long – very small compared to the large spent fuel assemblies and high-level waste glass logs usually discussed in geologic disposal plans....
...1,936 capsules filled with radioactive 137CsCl and 90SrCl2 that are stored underwater at the Waste Encapsulation Storage Facility at DOE’s Hanford site in Washington State....
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Armies of geologists have studied this, and Yucca Mountain in Nevada is just about the ideal place to store this stuff. Provides the best geologic protection and gets less than an inch of rain per year.
Only problem is it can’t get by Harry Reid.
Nope. Makes too much sense. Can’t do it.
Might discover oil in the process!
We did, but she keeps climbing out. Nobody wants to et close enough to hog tie Pelosi before we try again...
I would vote for dropping our nuclear waste from a plane over certain areas of the middle east....
I would vote for dropping our nuclear waste from a plane over certain areas of the middle east....
I would vote for dropping our nuclear waste from a plane over certain areas of the middle east....
Holy cow.... I swear I only hit post one time!
It didn't work out so well for our moon sixteen years ago. What makes us think it'll work for the Earth?
Godzira!
Spinning off into space breaking the laws of physics and good taste doesn’t appeal very much to me. I’d love an eagle and a U shaped blaster though.
That layer with Stahlman’s gas might be tapped and an inferno would begin.
What are you talking about?
What are you talking about?
Try doing the math.
Even simpler, encase the waste in glass drums and sink them in the deepest parts of the ocean. There is plenty of sand to make the glass and no shortage of ocean depths.
What are you claiming happened in early 1999?
The "deepest parts of the ocean" is the Marianas Trench. That's a subduction zone, and anything you drop there is on it's way back into the Earth's mantle. You just have to keep it encased long enough to make the trip.
Why don’t you try explaining what you mean?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.