Re: " Nuclear waste could bury itself "

[John Jacobus <crispy_bird@YAHOO.COM>]

Isn't melting of the rock part of the logic behind the

WIPP facility in New Mexico: 

http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/wipp/wippsite.htm



My question is how much heat has to be generated to 

melt the granite?  Would the amount of radioactive

waste be too hot to handle, it both the radiation and

thermal senses of the word?



--- Jerry Cohen <jjcohen@PRODIGY.NET> wrote:

> " Nuclear waste could bury itself "    Incorporation

> of nuclear waste by self-melting into deep

> underground silicate rock is a great idea! It was

> also a great idea in 1972 when we first proposed it.

> See:

> 

> Cohen, Lewis, & Braun, "In-situ incorporation of

> Nuclear Waste in Deep Molten Silicate Rock", Nuclear

> Technology, 13:76, April, 1972

> 

>     Although nobody showed any physical or geologic

> reason that it wouldn't work, the idea was rejected

> by AEC/ERDA/DOE essentially because people might

> "envision volcanoes". I know this makes no sense,

> but then what does in our nuclear waste programs.

>     Incidentally, a patent was awarded for the

> process and I received $1.00 from the US government

> for it. I still think it is the second best way of

> nucwaste disposal. The best way, for both safety and

> economic reasons is ocean disposal.

> 

> 

. . .



=====

-- John

John Jacobus, MS

Certified Health Physicist

e-mail:  crispy_bird@yahoo.com



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