Published: July 9th, 2012 at 8:33 am ET
|
Bacteria a potential threat to nuclear waste repositories
Physorg
By Jan Overney
July 9, 2012
By interacting with the radioactive waste and the materials used to contain it, underground microorganisms may affect the safety of nuclear waste repositories, for better or for worse.
Underground, time appears to stand still. [...] But now, scientists are finding out that human activities such as the excavation of tunnels can lead to a blooming of underground bacterial activity.
[...]
“Given the long duration involved – several hundred thousand years, if the bacteria can do it, they will do it,” [Rizlan Bernier-Latmani, head of EPFL’s Environmental Microbiology Laboratory] says.
[...]
Bernier-Latmani cites several bacterially-driven processes that have the potential to affect the safety of nuclear waste repositories [...] increased corrosion of metallic waste and containers and production of methane could both weaken the barriers that contain the radioactive waste
[...]
It is still unknown whether the bugs are native or whether they colonized the bedrock during the excavation of the tunnels, but they are there, and they are active. Deep geological repositories have been selected as the most viable option for nuclear waste disposal, because, unlike on the surface of the earth, the bedrock appears to be frozen in time. But while geology may be close to standing still, human intrusion into the bedrock can bring underground biology back to its normal pace.
h/t Anonymous tip
See also:
- Paper: Strange growth discovered on spent fuel could be "biological in nature" -- White, stringlike material resembles spider web
- Nuclear Researcher: Mutant microorganisms thrived in melted fuel at Three Mile Island -- "Sounds like something you'd see on Star Trek" says host (VIDEO)
Published: July 9th, 2012 at 8:33 am ET
|
sending...
Oh shoot ! Another noncoöperatif dynamic of Mother Earth popping in to the consciousness of the raging blind junkies with no plan, no vision , no morals and only rigid, aggresive wischfull dreaming attitude.
Report Comment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olkiluoto_Nuclear_Power_Plant#Onkalo_spent_nuclear_fuel_repository
Report Comment
The Japanese have already determined ocean dumping is the preferred method of long-term nuclear waste disposal.
Why didn't they think about this years ago? Oh, wait . . .
Report Comment
OK…….so where can they dump …..errr…….i mean store it, if not underground. LAND SEA OR AIR……………man ….that stuff is sooooooooooooo deadly. Good news though…….TEPCO says they have it all under control.
Report Comment
The surface of the sun. The cost is astronomical, the technology barely imagined. Many have suggested it in the past. It is possibly viable, but, way too expensive for the industry and would put a crimp in future nuclear radiation uses. Which is of course, why it is a good idea. One needs to only get space launched cargo craft close enough to the Sun's gravity to where they are pulled into its surface. We could even use nuclear fission drives like the one on the Pluto craft, though solar, ha! might be more effective.
Report Comment
The problem was always what would happen if the rocket exploded in the atmosphere, and all the waste was vaporized into the air.
I guess that's a moot question now.
Report Comment
Already did in 60,s rocket exploded with nuclear fuel and spread vast amounts of radiation on parts of Africa
Report Comment
What else is going to come to light, as this crisis continues?
There will be no 'Mission Accomplished' banner flying on this one.
Report Comment
@Vic: I've already contacted a company that's developing mag-lift technology and made this proposal to them. It can be done safely but requires considerable international commitment in both resources and security (safe handling and oversight).
We can develop the material handling technology for packaging the worst of contaminants within inert caskets (glass fusing) and then shuttling these 'hot pills' into low-earth-orbit, for redirection into the sun. Reusable hyper-sonic craft would return to earth for continuous round-trips.
The mag-rail-lift-stations would be located in equatorial regions and direct payloads up-over isolated ocean areas, into space. If a payload is 'lost' during the lift phase, its remains could be recovered safely within recessed waters. International air traffic would have to be permanently re-routed to avoid any chance of collisions with in-flight payloads. The in-flight payloads would be carried in hardened hyper-sonic craft that require no on-board propulsion systems.
The entire system would be virtually automated – from packaging to payload handling – to minimize danger to remediation technicians. The biggest danger would be found in recovering the waste from existing repositories. But each of these sites could be evaluated and prioritized for how best to recover and transfer the waste.
There's a lot to this and it'll take time; something we're running out of…
Report Comment
Make TEPCO PAAAAAAAAYYYYY FOR DISPOSAL…….. or the fuku radiation sun rocket…….I LIKE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!
Report Comment
I'm good with the gallows humor … it deflects the radioactivity …
Welcome to you greensnotbubble, you Georgia cracker!
By the way, could you see that those two plants near Athens don't go online … make good tourist attractions if never activated …
Oh, and you also don't have the water … can you spell Georgia drought????
peace …
Report Comment
What do they mean "frozen in time"? Did they never hear of earthquakes or fracking or deep tomography or terrorist bombs or CME events? Talk about saddling our children and progeny with huge debt.
Report Comment