Thursday, April 3, 2014

Nuclear Waste Solution Seen in Desert Salt Beds


Caroline Colavita                                                                                    March 18, 2014
Earth Science C Even                                                                                     Current Event


Wald, Matthew L. “Nuclear Waste Solution Seen in Desert Salt Beds.” New York Times. 9 Feb. 2014


            In New Mexico, there are caverns of salt that have been carved out and are being utilized for stowing radioactive waste. The waste is stored into holes bored into the walls of the cavern. This waste is leftover from the military and civilian pursuits. These salt caverns can be found about half a mile underneath the deserts. Radioactive waste was placed into the taverns causing the salt to grow six inches every year. Since the salt grows, it will engulf the radioactive material causing it to decompose. Many people do not want to drill into the salt mines because they are rich in oil. Therefore, if someone were to drill in to retrieve the oil, they would release all of the radioactive material. Another example of this type of project was the Yucca project. The Yucca Mountain was a geological repository for nuclear waste. That is until the government cut the funding due to the fact that the nuclear waste they were storing was far more radioactive in its first few centuries. This caused it to be extremely dangerous. After this project ended, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) came about. One time the mine had to be evacuated due to a truck catching on fire. Luckily the truck was on the other side of the mine and no one got hurt. the governor of New Mexico was in favor of the salt mines, along with the state’s representatives. They felt that since the land is not being used and that there is a small chance of an earthquake occurring, the project was a good idea.
           
            This project will hopefully become successful 25 years from now. It will possibly end all of the debates between the EPA and the government. It will be an easy compromise for both of them. They could export the practice all over the world and hopefully will help store more and more waste. It is a new and easier way to handle the nuclear waste. Many scientists believe that this system will help areas all over the world in the future. Also when the waste is buried in the salt, the water moves towards the heat leaving the salt behind. This salt is much stronger than normal salt. However, this could cause some problems for the people around the area. For example, if they were to drill for oil, they would expose all of the nuclear waste. This could effect all of the plants and animals that live on and use the land.
           
            This article was overall written well, with the exception of a few mistakes. They should talk about how they know which areas are safe to store this waste and why. Also if expanding this project would require action by the Congress or if they can just go wherever they please. Also I think they should have talked about what they do with all of the waste they do not store in the caverns. However, I think the author did a very good job talking in detail about what exactly the project was.