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NMR Shows That Nuclear Storage Degrades

Posted by kdawson on from the quarter-million-years dept.

eldavojohn writes to point out recent research using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imagery that shows that certain nuclear waste storage containers may not be as safe as previously thought. From the article: "[R]adiation emitted from [plutonium] waste could transform one candidate storage material into less durable glass after just 1,400 years — much more quickly than thought... The problem is that the radioactive waste damages the matrix that contains it. Many of the waste substances, including plutonium-239, emit alpha radiation, which travels for only very short distances (barely a few hundredths of a millimeter) in the ceramic, but creates havoc along the way."

1 of 385 comments (clear)

  1. Two things... by Noryungi · · Score: 0, Flamebait
    • This proves that, overall, nuclear energy is probably not the best solution to Peak Oil and Global Warming.
    • Would it be possible to counter the effects of Plutonium radiation by inserting lead rods around the plutonium core?
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