Immobilization of Iodine-129 was mentioned in the abstract for the article and it's a particularly dangerous element found in nuclear waste. I got stuck on the idea of mobilization since what good is that when I want the nuclear waste to vaporize into another dimension or some such.
There's a tremendous volume and I mean immensely immense volume of liquid nuclear waste and much of it is stored poorly at nuclear weapons facilities, nuclear reactor sites, etc. There is one key feature to the medium in which the nuclear waste is stored: it leaks.
Finally it clicked that immobilization was to ensure the radioactive material was in a medium which could not leak, in this case some type of glass / ceramic material. (Science Daily: Can radioactive waste be immobilized in glass for millions of years?)
That won't make the nuclear waste vaporize into another dimension but it won't end up seeping into the ecosystem either. Presumably this medium would be acceptable for train transport and then the nuclear waste can be dispatched for final long-term storage at Yucca Mountain. That facility got tangled in a government debacle and you may want to read further in the WIKI.
Yucca Mountain provides the geological stability and suitable security while the new immobilization medium provides the physical stability of the material so this seems to satisfy the requirements for proper disposal. (WIKI: Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository)
But, maybe you're right ...
General Jack D. Ripper: The base is being put on Condition Red. I want this flashed to all sections immediately.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Condition Red, sir, yes, jolly good idea. That keeps the men on their toes.
General Jack D. Ripper: Group Captain, I'm afraid this is not an exercise.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Not an exercise, sir?
General Jack D. Ripper: I shouldn't tell you this, Mandrake, but you're a good officer and you've a right to know. It looks like we're in a shooting war.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Oh, hell. Are the Russians involved, sir?
- "Dr Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb"
There's a tremendous volume and I mean immensely immense volume of liquid nuclear waste and much of it is stored poorly at nuclear weapons facilities, nuclear reactor sites, etc. There is one key feature to the medium in which the nuclear waste is stored: it leaks.
Finally it clicked that immobilization was to ensure the radioactive material was in a medium which could not leak, in this case some type of glass / ceramic material. (Science Daily: Can radioactive waste be immobilized in glass for millions of years?)
That won't make the nuclear waste vaporize into another dimension but it won't end up seeping into the ecosystem either. Presumably this medium would be acceptable for train transport and then the nuclear waste can be dispatched for final long-term storage at Yucca Mountain. That facility got tangled in a government debacle and you may want to read further in the WIKI.
Yucca Mountain provides the geological stability and suitable security while the new immobilization medium provides the physical stability of the material so this seems to satisfy the requirements for proper disposal. (WIKI: Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository)
But, maybe you're right ...
General Jack D. Ripper: The base is being put on Condition Red. I want this flashed to all sections immediately.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Condition Red, sir, yes, jolly good idea. That keeps the men on their toes.
General Jack D. Ripper: Group Captain, I'm afraid this is not an exercise.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Not an exercise, sir?
General Jack D. Ripper: I shouldn't tell you this, Mandrake, but you're a good officer and you've a right to know. It looks like we're in a shooting war.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Oh, hell. Are the Russians involved, sir?
- "Dr Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb"
Ed: will the generals roll barrels of nuclear waste at each other?
Dunno. I'm not that far along with my conspiracy theory yet.
Ed: maybe we have a possible game show in which generals roll barrels of nuclear waste at selected targets to score points for money and fabulous prizes like a weekend in Puerta Vallarta for you and your secretary, general. It would be like the Nuclear Waste Olympics.
I like how you think. Let's do lunch.
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