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Finding a Space for Waste

Finding a Space for Waste. ¡noah! NCSS 7/27/06. Alternative Energy Sources. Alternative Energy Sources. Alternative Energy Sources. Alternative Energy Sources. “temporary” holding tanks at reactor sites are filling up. Some of the waste has been kept there over 3 decades!.

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Finding a Space for Waste

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  1. Finding a Space for Waste ¡noah! NCSS 7/27/06

  2. Alternative Energy Sources

  3. Alternative Energy Sources

  4. Alternative Energy Sources

  5. Alternative Energy Sources

  6. “temporary” holding tanks at reactor sites are filling up. Some of the waste has been kept there over 3 decades! On-Site Waste Storage

  7. Nuclear Reactor Fuel Rods • Only <3% 238U actually used in “once-through” open fuel cycle. • Spent fuel (right) is a form of HLW and is the primary concern for permanent disposal.

  8. Yucca Mountain • ~90 miles NW of Las Vegas, Nevada • Capacity: 77,000 tons--will be full by 2020 (scheduled to open in 2017) will only be part of the solution.

  9. Under the seabed • Burial hundreds of meters under the middle of the tectonic plates • ~70% of Earth’s outer core = an essentially limitless storage capacity • Funding for research cut 20 years ago to focus on Yucca Mountain

  10. Considering a Disposal Area: Worst Case Scenarios • For seabed: can sea creatures carry leaked waste to ocean surface? • Experiments show that radionuclides would not travel more than a few meters through the seabed clay in 105 years!

  11. WCS for Yucca Mountain • Groundwater contamination is the biggest concern • YM is 300 meters above the water table • Leaked waste could be transported by rain water to water table, so chemistry of the waste must be considered

  12. Pros & Cons for Yucca Mountain’s WCS • PROS • Volcanic Tuff contains zeolite • Pu4+ (most abundant form) is insoluble and therefore settles as sediment in groundwater instead of being transported • CONS • Possible for Pu4+ to transport by binding to natural colloids and microorganisms • Np5+ is soluble and is not stopped very well by zeolite

  13. Puts radioactive waste into glass or ceramic lattice  immobilized, can’t transport through water Does not shield radiation, so canisters still have to be used Enormous cost: special plants built/designed only to produce glass logs, can only build one log/day, and each log costs ~$1.4M Vitrification

  14. ¡¡¡RECYCLE!!!

  15. Acknowledgements: me.

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