Ten Outlandish Ideas to Deal with Nuclear Waste

Toxic waste is an urgent issue. Nuclear power plants provide nearly 20% of all electricity in the United States, and many of us rely on them around the world. The reactors can generate a colossal amount of energy, but with that comes a colossal amount of radioactive slurry. These leftovers pose a huge danger to human health and can destroy the environment. So, how do we properly dispose of nuclear waste?

Over the years, scientists have come up with all kinds of bizarre, creative ways to deal with this toxic sewage. These range from freezing it in ice sheets to blasting it into space, and also include art pieces, virtual reality models, and even melting it into glass. Here are ten of the oddest ideas for how to deal with nuclear waste.

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10 Ohio State Researchers Create a Battery that Runs on Nuclear Waste

Batteries powered by radioactive waste might sound like something from the world of Mad Max. However, scientists in the U.S. say their new invention could help dispose of toxic leftovers. An Ohio State team came up with a device that takes in gamma radiation and returns an electric output. In trials, the prototype produced enough current to power a microchip.

Scientists crafted the groundbreaking battery from solar cells and scintillator crystals, which glow when struck with gamma rays. They tested the device using two radioactive sources, cesium-137 and cobalt-60, which are both commonly left over after nuclear fission. With cesium, the battery gave out a few hundred nanowatts. However, it transformed the cobalt rays into 1.5 microwatts of power, sufficient to operate a small sensor.

With the right power source, scientists hope this can be scaled up to power items around the house. “We’re harvesting something considered as waste and, by nature, trying to turn it into treasure,” said lead author Raymond Cao, director of Ohio State’s Nuclear Reactor Lab.^[1]

9 Washington Scientists Turn Radioactive Liquid into Glass

In April 2018, a government research team in Washington State unveiled a new technique to trap nuclear waste in glass. Scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) mixed 3 gallons (11.4 liters) of waste with liquid glass. They fired up the heat to 2,100°F (1,148°C) and left their strange blend to harden into 20 pounds (9 kg) of solid glass.

This unorthodox process, known as vitrification, is said to isolate and immobilize the radioactive elements. While it may still be in its fledgling stages, scientists reckon it could be used to trap millions of gallons of hazardous liquids.

The researchers sourced the nuclear sludge from the inactive Hanford Site, using only liquid with low levels of radioactivity. The storage tanks under Hanford contain 56 million gallons (212 million liters) of chemical and radioactive waste.

“The radioactive elements are chemically bound as part of the glass material,” explained lead researcher Will Eaton. “And the glass material is a durable waste form that isolates the radioactivity from the environment for a very long time.”^[2]

8 NASA Studied the Idea of Launching Nuclear Waste into Space

In the 1970s, NASA researchers explored the far-flung idea of disposing of radioactive detritus in space. The agency published several papers looking into various ways to launch nuclear waste into the skies. They examined the best location to send the waste, how to transport it, and even considered a “direct solar impact mission.”

Over half a century later, the idea of sending nuclear waste into space has now been abandoned. The U.S. Department of Energy cites the enormous cost as one of the reasons. Others include the risk of colliding with space debris, damaging a satellite, or the rocket exploding.^[3]

7 German Scientists Send Nuclear Waste into Virtual Reality

Radioactive waste disposal has entered the virtual realm. Germany’s VIRTUS project enables scientists to explore sites for underground storage of nuclear sludge. The €3 million system provides a detailed insight into rocks and mines.

Experts use VIRTUS to create a 3D model of the area. The simulation then works out what would happen over time if they built a repository there. The system can even predict how heat from the toxic waste would impact the surrounding rocks. Scientists hope to share their findings with the public using 360-degree graphics.

VIRTUS could help Germany solve its longstanding nuclear waste storage issue. However, not everyone is impressed. Swedish nuclear waste advisor Johan Swahn worries that the graphics will create “a false impression that we have understood more than we actually have.”^[4]

6 Green Rust Could Help Clean Radioactive Leftovers

Deep underwater lies a green sludge that can immobilize nuclear waste, preventing it from oozing into fresh waters. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have shown how an iron compound known as “green rust” prevents toxic materials from seeping out.

Green rust is a type of clay that forms naturally in water due to a lack of oxygen. The Danish team looked into its impact on reactor waste. The clay absorbs radioactive elements, such as neptunium. Scientists worry that in the distant future, this material could leak into the water supply and cause widespread harm. There is now talk about surrounding waste canisters with green rust to try to avoid pollution.

Geochemist Bo Christiansen explained, “Our study shows that even the safest encapsulation of radioactive waste could be made safer if radioactive waste canisters are buried in a place where green rust will form.”^[5]

5 Experts Propose Drilling Holes Deep Into the Earth’s Crust

Pouring nuclear waste into really deep holes might sound a little childish, but the idea is more valid than you may think. Since the 1950s, scientists have looked into drilling boreholes into the Earth’s crust to deposit toxic leftovers. Physicist Richard Muller and his daughter, Elizabeth, even founded a startup called Deep Isolation, which claims to be the SpaceX of nuclear waste.

Others are less taken by the idea. Unlike current methods, borehole storage is a risky and untested approach. Scientists reckon it will cost over $2 million to drill one hole. There are also concerns about how thin the canister walls need to be. This increases the risk of a container getting damaged or stuck. And the borehole model offers next to no opportunity to monitor the site’s safety.^[6]

4 New York Creator Turns Nuclear Waste into Artwork

Of all the things to do with radioactive waste, creating art might be one of the most inspiring. New York maestro Taryn Simon teamed up with Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation (ROSATOM) to create a black, glassy square from toxic leftovers.

The vitrification process, which turns waste into glass, occurred in 2015. Now, the glassy block sits underground in a container made from concrete and reinforced steel at the Sergiev Posad disposal plant. It will remain here until its radioactive levels have reduced to a safe amount to be near humans.

Black Square XVII is due to go on display at the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in 3015. The gallery has already prepared a custom void for the artwork to sit in. The glassy block is formed from a mixture of liquids, slurries, and chemical dust from a plant in Kurst and the surrounding area of greater Moscow. For the piece, Simon wrote a letter to the future, which is contained inside. This piece is part of a series of black squares created by Simon to question the impact of man’s creations.^[7]

3 Fungi Appear to Eat Radioactive Material

Fungi that consume toxic waste could point to a new way to deal with nuclear leftovers. In the 1980s, researchers in Eastern Europe discovered an astonishing black mold growing inside the ruined reactor at Chornobyl. The fungus was blooming under the site’s intense radioactive levels. Scientists say it seemed to be using the gamma rays as an energy source, similar to how plants use sunlight.

Further research unearthed thousands of strains of microfungi thriving at the Chornobyl site. Some species even looked as though they had consumed some of the “hot particles” from the reactor core. Scientists now hope that these hardy, radiation-gobbling fungi could help clean up nuclear waste. Experts say the mold could also be used to grow crops in hostile climates or as a form of biomaterial.^[8]

2 Experts Look into Discarding Toxic Waste at Subduction Zones

The Earth’s crust is a complex map of subterranean layers and tectonic plates. Sometimes, one section of crust sinks beneath another and into the mantle at a subduction zone. This often takes place near the coast, where the denser oceanic plate is forced beneath the continental one. This tectonic crumpling usually creates deep underwater ditches like the Mariana Trench.

At some point, scientists came up with the bizarre idea of using these subduction zones to dump nuclear waste. One man, James Russell Baird, was even granted patents by the U.S., Canada, and New Zealand for his novel Subductive Waste Disposal Method. He later tried to sue U.S. authorities for $13.58 billion after they outlawed using the sea or seabed to dispose of toxic waste.^[9]

1 Freezing Waste in Ice Sheets Has Unforeseen Long-Term Dangers

Around 50 years ago, scientists debated the feasibility of storing toxic canisters in ice sheets in places like Greenland and Antarctica. The idea was that the surrounding ice would thaw due to the heat of the toxic waste. The containers would then sink deeper into the sludge, and the ice would refreeze above them.

There was even a 1977 paper in the Journal of Glaciology exploring the best container size and optimal depth so that people hundreds of years in the future will be able to retrieve the submerged waste.

Ultimately, ice sheet disposable was deemed a non-starter. Firstly, dumping radioactive waste near the South Pole is banned by the 1959 Antarctic Treaty. However, more recently, scientists have expressed concerns that melting ice caused by climate change could expose buried toxic waste to the surface.

During the Cold War, the U.S. froze barrels of hazardous liquid in the ice at Camp Century’s military research base in Greenland. Now, authorities are concerned that rising global temperatures could disrupt the noxious material. Scientists predict it could be returned to the surface as early as 2100. Denmark now has the region under constant monitoring.^[10]