Nuclear Waste Disposal Essay -- Radiation Pollution Papers

Nuclear Waste establishmentAs the millenium approaches, we atomic number 18 faced with the problems created by our technological advances. Everyday we are forced to see the results, from acid rain to polluted beaches. But thither is one problem in particular that will probably out-live our generation and the generation which has created it. If properly contained and monitored, it has little affect on us and our environment. However, at one time it is free of its containment, it is a destructive and deadly force. This problem is nuclear waste.thirty thousand metric rafts of spent fuel rods from power reactors and some other 380,000 cubic meters of high level radioactive waste, have been produced in the joined States since the beginning of the nuclear age. Presently, these fuel rods are stored at the nuclear reactors in water filled basins and accumulate at the rate of six tons per day (Whipple, 1996). As the populataion increases, so does the demand for electricity. If we continu e relying on nuclear power to provide our electricity, we will continue producing more and more nuclear waste. Greater use of nuclear power and volumes of waste mean a greater chance of accidental release of irradiation into the environment.RadiationHow it is producedHow does radiation in our environment affect us? In order to comprehend how radiation affects us, we first must understand how it is produced. Fission is the initial step. It is the splitting of uranium or plutonium atoms which produces radioactive fission fragments and activation products (Bertell, 1985). These products and so ionize normal atoms, which leads to a sort of domino affect microscopically. This concatenation reaction can also cause activation products to be produced by causing chemicals in the air,... ... 1982. http//www.public.iastate.edu/smevela/policy.html.Glasstone, Samuel and Jordan, Walter H. (1980). Nuclear Power and Its Environmental Effects. LaGrange Pk., IL American Nuclear Society.Liptkin, R. (1995). sassy Glass Could Store Unused Plutonium. Science News. 148 (23). pp374.Lipschutz, Ronnie D. (1980). radioactive Waste Politics, Technology, and Risk. Cambridge, Massachussesetts Ballinger Publishing Company.Nadis, Steven. (1996). The Sub-Seabed Solution. The Atlantic Monthly. 278(4). pp28-30, 38.St. Joe Valley Greens. (1997). Nuclear Waste transit Map. http//users.michiana.org/greens/editorial/transpor.htm.Whipple, Chris G. (1996). Can Nuclear Waste Be Stored safely at Yucca Mountain?. Scientific American. 274(6). 72-79.Wright, Richard T. (1989). Biology Through the Eyes of Faith. New York Christian College Coalition.