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RE: volcano?
For those few paranoid individuals that have infiltrated this site...here
is another thing for you to add to your list of things to obsess about:
Super volcanoes...
See http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/supervolcanoes.shtml
Just a few snippets from the site to ensure you get a nice restful sleep
tonight:
"Hidden deep beneath the Earth's surface lie one of the most destructive
and yet least-understood natural phenomena in the world - supervolcanoes.
Only a handful exist in the world but when one erupts it will be unlike any
volcano we have ever witnessed. The explosion will be heard around the
world. The sky will darken, black rain will fall, and the Earth will be
plunged into the equivalent of a nuclear winter."
"It is little known that lying underneath one of America's areas of
outstanding natural beauty - Yellowstone Park - is one of the largest
supervolcanoes in the world. Scientists have revealed that it has been on a
regular eruption cycle of 600,000 years. The last eruption was 640,000
years ago...so the next is overdue."
"And it would devastate the planet. Climatologists now know that Toba
blasted so much ash and sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere that it
blocked out the sun, causing the Earth's temperature to plummet. Some
geneticists now believe that this had a catastrophic effect on human life,
possibly reducing the population on Earth to just a few thousand people.
Mankind was pushed to the edge of extinction? and it could happen again."
Hmmmmm....can we say ELE? E X T I N C T I O N L E V E L E V E N T...Oh
my! Life will never be the same...
My opinions only.
DJWhitfill
"Tuttle, William K."
<William.Tuttle@MED.VA. To: "'Susan Gawarecki'" <loc@ICX.NET>, RADSAFE
GOV> <radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu>
Sent by: cc:
owner-radsafe@list.vand Subject: RE: volcano?
erbilt.edu
11/27/01 05:03 PM
Please respond to
"Tuttle, William K."
Why is it foolish to site major cities in areas of volcanoes which are
relatively inactive? Surely it is more foolish to site major cities in
areas of active earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, etc? We can
probably think of some environmental reason not to locate a major city at
most places they are presently located.
Not the government's (my employer) opinion, only mine
William K. Tuttle III
Portland VA Medical Center
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Susan Gawarecki [SMTP:loc@ICX.NET]
> Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2001 1:40 PM
> To: RADSAFE
> Subject: Re: volcano?
>
> That would really depend on the type of volcano! A Mount St.
> Helens-type would just spread it all around. Of course, no one is
> foolish enough to site a radwaste repository in an active andesitic
> volcanic regime like the Pacific northwest (it's foolish enough to site
> major cities there).
>
> Most of the theoretical volcano concerns I've heard have been in regards
> to Yucca Mtn. In that case, the granite mountain would not be
> penetrated by the volcano or its lava pipes; lava like water follows the
> path of least resistance and would travel through the heavily fractured
> down-faulted areas, emerging on the dry lake beds or at worst adjacent
> to the mountains. This extensional geologic regime is characterized by
> basaltic lavas, which are not explosive and spread out in sheet flows or
> form relatively small cinder cones.
>
> Gee, all those underground explosions at NTS didn't start any volcanos
> (or cause any big earthquakes)--I don't think there is likely to be a
> problem with either at Yucca Mtn. Let's get that spent fuel on the road
> (an opinion shared by the Local Oversight Committee)!
>
> Regards,
> Susan
>
> > Volcanos bting up molten rock through "pipes" a few sq. m. cross
> > sectional area, so if a volcano came up thru a waste repository, only a
> > tiny fraction of the stored radwaste would be affected. The rest would
> > become more tightly sealed.
>
> --
> .....................................................
> Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director
> Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee
> Please visit our Web site - http://www.local-oversight.org
> .....................................................
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