The+Disposal+of+Radioactive+Waste

= The Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Updates in progress) = = ﻿ ** Introduction ** = More and more use has been made of nuclear reactions along with the step of human development which tends to require energy of high levels that are unattainable with conventional sources of energy. As nuclear plants are being built all around the world, the problem of dealing with radioactive waste that is bound to be produced from such reactions. This category of waste can sometimes prove to be troublesome due to its properties: highly biologically hazardous, hard to neutralize, and occasionally long-lasting (up to millions of years). Currently, the nuclear plants are a potential threat of producing massive radioactive waste, while the ones approaching the end of their operating lives appear to be more of a problem. Meanwhile, the decommissioned nuclear warheads assembled during the cold war also spell great troubles for disposal. Due to its great ability of causing biological and ecological hazards, radioactive waste needs to be processed with caution and appropriateness to ensure safety of the world. ** The Ability of Radioactive Waste to Cause Harm ** Widely known as it is, direct contact with radioactive materials could lead to skin cancers, while the radiation from such materials may also trigger genetic alterations of human DNAs (and those of other creatures as well). In spite of this, its most hard-to-deal-with property is, with no doubt, not being biodegradable. Hence it needs to be stored with tense caution, or "transmuted" in order for it to last shorter, both of which have been proved to place heavy burdens on any economy. Also, the effects cast by such waste could function and be passed on for multiple generations. All these factors contributed to the urgency of finding the right measures to deal with the disposal of radioactive waste. ** Possible Means of Treatment ** The means treatment can be classified into two classes: initial treatment and long-term management. Initial treatment usually seeks to isolate radioactive materials from the biosphere, while long-term management concerns about minimizing the negative effects triggered by the behaviors of such materials in a long period of time. Usually, initial treatment can take place locally. In contract, however, conventional long-term management could demand geological repositioning. ** Why is it a Political Issue? **   The disposal of radioactive materials is usually recognized as a domestic issue. However, its need for possibly international displacement involves political interactions, and might bring chances of illegal acquirement of these materials, which is absolutely unacceptable due to their capacity of mass destruction. In addition, the disposal of radioactive waste, by and large, causes irreversible damage to the environment, which is usually regarded as the common wealth of all mankind. And the last but not least, while such disposal loads heavy burdens on even developed countries, developing countries would definitely need assistance from the international community, and this assistance could be financial, technological or even legal. According to a submission by the Royal Society to Britain's House of Lords inquiry on nuclear waste, all countries with a nuclear waste problem are considering underground disposal as "the only viable long-term option". This implies that currently, few approaches of substantially effective long-term management have been initiated. As underground means are not ideal, the long-term treatment and storage need to be internationally regulated, in order to minimize the damage caused to the environment and prevent radioactive materials from being acquired illegally by unauthorized personnel. The international community has been trying to find an appropriate solution to this issue, but little significant progress has been made. ** Related Organizations ** International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – an international organization seeking to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy while inhibiting military uses of any kind. The Agency also devotes itself to ensuring safety of using such energy by providing international safeguards. It encourages the development of nuclear technology with peaceful nature and contributes to nuclear safety, including radiation protection. According to its own international treaty, the IAEA Statute, it reports to the UN General Assembly and Security Council. The IAEA functions with greatly considerable effectiveness in the international community. Institute of Nuclear Material Management (INMM) – an international organization aiming to ensure safety usage and management of nuclear materials. In 2008, it joined with Nuclear Threat Initiative, the United States Department of Energy, and the IAEA to establish the World Institute for Nuclear Security, which seeks to enhance the physical protection and security of the world’s nuclear materials and facilities. ** Case Instances ** -Nuclear Waste Policy Act The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 is an act that set a schedule and procedure for establishing a permanent, underground repository for high-level radioactive waste. State governments, in this case, are authorized to veto the decision of the federal government to place a repository within their borders. As storing radioactive waste geologically can minimize its effect to the biosphere, this Act may prove to be relatively effective. However, underground storage can be crippled by accidental uncovering, removal by hostile personnel, exposure caused by geologic activities such as earthquakes, etc. Hence while it might be effective compared to other means the human society is capable of now, the effectiveness of this act is still limited. Further information can be found at [] -Lake Karachay Lake Karachay is located in the south Ural Mountains of west Russia. The former USSR used this region to store radioactive waste since the year of 1951. In accordance to a recent report from Washington D.C., Karachay accumulated approximately 4.44 exabecquerels of radioactivity, which makes it the most polluted area on earth. The level of radiation in this area was 600 roentgens in 1990. This amount of radiation is estimated to be capable of cast a lethal dose to an average human within 60 minutes. No official report has come from this area about any biological hazards, which indicates that this storage proved to be temporarily effective. However, such storage has completely crippled this area that it cannot be used for any other purposes. It is wished that such effects will no longer occur once an ideal means of long-term management is introduced. The international community can provide assistance in dealing with such cases, which might help to reduce the negative effects. =Bibliography= [|http://en.wikipedia.org] [|http://www.mn.ru] [|http://www.history.rochester.edu] [|http://www.world-nuclear.org][|http://www.eoearth.org] =Updates:=

Common Treatments of Radioactive Waste
Initial Treatments: As mentioned above, initial treatments seek to isolate radioactive waste from the biosphere so that the effects to the ecology can be avoided or at least minimized. Normally this requires stabilization and lowering the radioactivity. (Due to heavy information related to chemistry, the content below will seek to simplify the process by refraining from describing purposes for each procedure. If further reading is needed, please refer to the corresponding page on Wikipedia: []) Vitrification is one process used for stabilization. In this process, the waste (usually high-level) is first mixed with sugar and calcined. Then the "calcine" consisting of the radioactive material is fed into an induction heated furnace with fragile glass. The mixture produced is hence, while still melted, poured into a stainless steel cylinder. When solidified, the mixture contains all the waste bonded to the glass matrix. The cylinder is then sealed through welding, and its external contamination will be checked to confirm. Via this process, the radioactive waste is immobilized for a long period of time exceeding thousands of years, and will be suitable for underground storage. Ion exchange is often used to concentrate the radioactivity of such waste to a smaller volume. Such simple process can lower the radioactivity of the objective material by a large amount. It is generally used for medium active wastes. The Australian Synroc, invented by Professor Ted Ringwood, contains pyrochlore cryptomelane type minerals. It is said to "**provide the most effective and durable means of immobilizing various forms of high-level radioactive wastes for disposal".** It is predicted that the Synroc might be eventually introduced into commercial use. Detailed information can be reached at []. Long-term management aims at permanent removal of the threat caused by radioactive waste. The approaches to such management could vary greatly in accordance to the level of technology and financial capacity of the nation involved. The following text will use a unique means, transmutation, as a valid instance. Transmutation is, technologically, to transform a type of nuclear waste into another less harmful form. That is, to slash the radioactivity and half-life of the waste. There are two methods of transmutation: hybrid reactora, and fast consumer reactors. In the United States, transmutation was banned in 1977 by President Carter, concerning about probable plutonium proliferation. However, the ban was canceled in 1981 but President Reagan. For further reading, please refer to []. A Related Recent Incident: On the 13th of this month (October), an empty radioactive waste container was spotted around Kursky Vokzal. It is reported that this container carries a radioactivity of 10 times the normal value. Till now, no official personnel have been reported aware of what was in it. But whatever it was has gone like a bust of wind. Referring to the statement made in the section "Why is it a Political Issue?", the being missing of the radioactive waste worries the international community a lot. Once fallen into the wrong hands, its potential of mass destruction could trigger catastrophic hazards. Hence it is clear that the security of radioactive waste has to be ensured. However, due to the extremely harmful radiation casted by the waste, the security arrangement can prove to be sticky. So a measure to completely isolate the waste in order to allow close overwatch is also a key factor in this case.