Nuclear Legacy :: essays research papers

Nuclear Legacy"There is 10 thousand piles of thermonuclear surplus on Earth." Many scientist arein search for new and efficient ways to dispose of these lethal by-productswhich can destroy sprightliness itself. Radioactive products can be either beneficial ordevastating. It all depends on how we lend oneself them. In the field of medicine, somebenefit from shaft of light include, radiation therapy for cancer patients. Not alluses of radiation prove to be beneficial. Many use the power of the atom fordestructive purposes, introducing an age of nuclear warfare. It doesnt matterif we use radiation for good or bad purposes, they all contri neverthelesse to the growingrate of "unwanted nuclear waste." The issue now is, how do we dispose of thesenuclear wastes?     Scientist have concept of several methods to dispose the nuclear by-products. They tried to chemically treat the waste and reuse it, but "that wouldcost a fortune". They thought of launching the waste into outer space but it toowill cost a fortune. They tried to dump barrels filled with nuclear waste intothe ocean but they started leaking. As you can see, there is a great need for anuclear waste disposal site. These sites may sound frightening, but it may bethe only way for us to dispose the devastation we had longed to create. In 1986,the decision for a nuclear waste depositary proved to be "the closely frighteningdecision of the decade." Of these sites, three were chosen to be the "mostsuitable" for the disposal of nuclear by-products. These three sites consistedof Hanford, Washington Yuka Mountain, Nevada and Defsmith, Texas.     Hanford, Washington is a low be U.S. city, and is owned by theDepartment of Energy. A low populated city is an ideal site for radioactivedisposal. Although the city of Hanford is sparsely populated, geologists fearthe possibility of a nuclear seepage into the Colombia river. The ColumbiaRiv er is an important factor for the U.S. production of wheat. "This makes itthe worst of site," says the geologist. If the Colombia River is contaminatedwith nuclear waste, it will lead to the contamination of land surrounding the wide body of water, thus making land unusable. Radioactive contamination ofthe Colombia river will affect both Americas economy and agriculturalproduction.     Yuka mountain, Nevada is a heavily guarded renounce region of America. Itis far away from any lakes, rivers, or oceans, and its repository is locatedabove ground water levels. These geological conditions make Yuka mountain analmost gross(a) place for nuclear waste disposal to take place. This is due to