NMR Shows That Nuclear Storage Degrades

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."

Comments

"Tagging Beta"

[flibuste]

This post should have a "Doh" tag IMO.

Re:Waste?

[FooAtWFU]

1) If this stuff is still hot, doesn't it mean there's still energy there we could use?

How hot is it? Your body is hot. 98.6 degrees F. Doesn't mean it's practical to hook it up to some thermal generator (even if you're not busy doing other things with your life). If you want even a vaguely efficient energy-extraction process, you're going to need more than a few degrees of temperature differential.

2) This stuff came from the ground, why can't we put it back there?

That's what they want to do at Yucca Mountain, but a lot of people keep complaining about it for one reason or another. We'll see what happens... regardless of their complaints, it's still a heck of a lot more secure and stable in the long term than where they're typically storing things now.

Re:1,400 years

[skoaldipper]

I assume all your programs store dates with at least 5- or 6-digit years, right? Since you're thinking that far ahead?

All my dates are virtual programs anyways, so I store them by hooter sizes not years. And by naming my dates like '44dd.avi' and '36c.mpeg', I really do think that far ahead for our next taudry encounter.