Ground penetrating radar (GPR) imaging of the subsurface tied to GPS mapping will allow the CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company to have a better idea of what is buried at the site before excavating for it’s eventual disposal. Apparently without a permanent disposal facility, some of the hazardous and nuclear waste was temporarily buried on-site. Much of it was in well-organized pits, but some trenches have more issues. After some incidents over the past few months with the encountering of containers while excavating, the DOE, CH2M Hill and the Washington State Department of Ecology took a step back to evaluate their processes, and the GPR tied to GPS is apparently a good solution. [Source: The News Tribune. Image: EPA]
Related Articles
USDOE Problems With [Not] Storing Nuclear Waste
More problems for the US Department of Energy related to the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository. The New York Times is reporting that the DOE is already 10 years behind in a commitment made to Power Companies to store their nuclear waste, and according to the DOE, it will likely be at least another 10 years before they are able to begin accepting waste for permanent storage. Who cares you ask? Well, the US has already payed out $342 million in 60 lawsuits filed by utility companies, and that total could reach $11 billion according to government estimates or $35 billion according to industry estimates before Yucca Mountain finaly opens and begins accepting waste. Source: New York Times by way of Ontario-geofish.
Indefinite “Temporary” Nuclear Waste Storage and the Need for Nuclear Power
Since the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository has gotten the axe from President Obama, nuclear power plants around the country are faced with the prospect of virtually indefinite "temporary" storage of their nuclear waste in the form of spent fuel rods. The US Department of Energy has a legal obligation to find a permanent disposal facility for the spent fuel, and the agreements currently in place presumed that Yucca Mountain would be accepting nuclear waste by 2025 which clearly won’t happen. (Photo of dry cask temporary storage method for spent nuclear fuel from Connecticut Yankee). More after the break. […]