Nuclear Waste: An Ongoing Issue
Nuclear Waste: An Ongoing Issue
In the United States, nuclear energy has been viewed as a cleaner and potentially limitless source of energy, especially compared to other fossil fuel sources such as coal and oil. There are over 100 reactors operating in the United States, which provide roughly 20% of the nation’s electricity.1 Of those reactors, there is no permanent waste disposal site currently existing in the U.S, after plans to build a facility in Yucca Mountain in Nevada were scrapped due to concerns that were raised about the effectiveness of the site, and the possibility for seismic activity that could disturb any stored waste.2 Currently, nuclear waste in the United States is typically stored on-site at nuclear reactors in dry cask storage, which allows spent fuel to be surrounded by inert gas inside a container which is called a cask, which in turn is a steel cylinder surrounded by concrete layers in order to shield workers from radiation.3 This is a temporary fix while a permanent solution has so far been unsuccessfully found. In addition, even nuclear waste can pose a great danger to the environment and workers who are near it, so it remains imperative the irradiated waste is handled with great caution. Before the United States continues with its nuclear energy program, it needs to greatly mitigate the environmental risks associated with nuclear waste, and find a permanent solution for nuclear waste disposal . One of the vexing issues surrounding nuclear waste is the permanence that it poses to the environment, because it can take an upwards of thousands of years in order for radioactive isotopes to decay to negligible amounts. The standard method of storage, dry casks, are prone to cracking in 30 years or less, and it is only hoped that dry casks remain an adequate solution to store nuclear waste beyond the span of 100 years.4 Dry casks store high-level waste, which is made up of spent nuclear reactor fuel from commercial power plants and any
In the United States, nuclear energy has been viewed as a cleaner and potentially limitless source of energy, especially compared to other fossil fuel sources such as coal and oil. There are over 100 reactors operating in the United States, which provide roughly 20% of the nation’s electricity.1 Of those reactors, there is no permanent waste disposal site currently existing in the U.S, after plans to build a facility in Yucca Mountain in Nevada were scrapped due to concerns that were raised about the effectiveness of the site, and the possibility for seismic activity that could disturb any stored waste.2 Currently, nuclear waste in the United States is typically stored on-site at nuclear reactors in dry cask storage, which allows spent fuel to be surrounded by inert gas inside a container which is called a cask, which in turn is a steel cylinder surrounded by concrete layers in order to shield workers from radiation.3 This is a temporary fix while a permanent solution has so far been unsuccessfully found. In addition, even nuclear waste can pose a great danger to the environment and workers who are near it, so it remains imperative the irradiated waste is handled with great caution. Before the United States continues with its nuclear energy program, it needs to greatly mitigate the environmental risks associated with nuclear waste, and find a permanent solution for nuclear waste disposal . One of the vexing issues surrounding nuclear waste is the permanence that it poses to the environment, because it can take an upwards of thousands of years in order for radioactive isotopes to decay to negligible amounts. The standard method of storage, dry casks, are prone to cracking in 30 years or less, and it is only hoped that dry casks remain an adequate solution to store nuclear waste beyond the span of 100 years.4 Dry casks store high-level waste, which is made up of spent nuclear reactor fuel from commercial power plants and any
Cited: Chen, Wenzhen, Jianli Hao, and Zhiyun Chen. “A Study of Self-Burial of a Radioactive Waste Container by Deep Rock Melting.” Science and Technology of Nuclear Installations 2013 (2013): www.hindawi.com. Coopersmith, Jonathan Drew, Christina H. et al. “Nuclear Waste Transportation: Case Studies of Identifying Stakeholder Risk Information Needs.” Environmental Health Perspectives 111.3 (2003): 263–272. Print. Garcier, Romain. “The Nuclear ‘Renaissance’ and the Geography of the Uranium Fuel Cycle.” Geography 94.3 (2009): 198–206. Print. Jablon, Seymour, and John D. Boice Jr. “Mortality Among Workers at a Nuclear Power Plant in the United States.” Cancer Causes & Control 4.5 (1993): 427–430. Print. Macfarlane, Allison. “Underlying Yucca Mountain: The Interplay of Geology and Policy in Nuclear Waste Disposal.” Social Studies of Science 33.5 (2003): 783–807. Print.