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.
