h a l f b a k e r yClearly this is a metaphor for something.
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Lava flows are actually pretty stable structures (I'm thinking of the free-flowing basic lavas here, like on Hawaii). So, glasify high-level nuclear waste into lumps about the size of a coke can. Enclose this in a thick stainless steel can and weld it. Enclose the steel can in a thick jacket of refractory
ceramic.
Place the packages in a random pattern in front of an advancing lava flow. Pretty soon, they get overwhelmed and entombed in molten rock, but the ceramic jacket stops the heat getting to the inner can. Then the lava cools, freezing the waste in place.
Next year, another flow goes over the top. And another. And another. Pretty soon the waster is buried under many metres of hard, impervious rock.
No "keep away" signs are needed as volcanoes are intrinsically pretty dangerous. Noone digs near them for the same reason. And if any one package is damaged or ruptured (maybe by an earthquake), the actual release will be fairly small and contained. The waste will be safe until it has decayed.
Calderal Garbage Dumps
http://www.halfbake...l_20Garbage_20Dumps
Similar idea. [phoenix, Jun 25 2002, last modified Oct 05 2004]
Lava wells
http://www.halfbake...m/idea/Lava_20wells
Shows [8th of 7]'s affinity for lava. [phoenix, Jun 25 2002, last modified Oct 05 2004]
[link]
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why wouldnt the flow simply push them along ? |
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Mymus: Ever watched a lava flow closely ? It's not like a water wave, beacuse it's not of constant viscosity; the surface is a thickened, cooled skin through which the hot core continually breaks. So the flow lays down a thin carpet of cooled semi-solid material ahead of itself, engulfing things in its path. Once it rolls over this layer, the layer remelts, bonding to the flow beneath. It's quite fascinating, but don't get too close. This is how the packages get covered and sealed in. |
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Blissmiss: I assure you there is only one of us, something for which many people are truly thankful. I just have a very inventive mind, that's all. |
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phobic, multiple personalities. hmmm. |
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Phoenix: Relevant link, thanks, but this idea is a bit more focussed on the problem of disposing of relatively small volumes of material in a safe and non-polluting way, rather than the issue of general garbage disposal. |
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po: don't forget immature, sociopathic and paranoid ...... |
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its not all positive, eighth. |
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OK, so how do you get the nuclear waste to Hawaii? |
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There seem to be a lot of Greenpeace dinghies about. Maybe we could use them to carry nuclear waste to Hawaii. |
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So this is related to an idea which was considered in the 1960's and 1970's (it was a friend's first post-PhD gig) -- the idea here was to drill down to the mohovahic layer in a subduction zone (where one tectonic plate dives under another), and drop the waste on the conveyor belt to the mantle where it'd go away for several million years. |
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I don't know what became of that plan, perhaps the rate of subduction wasn't fast enough. |
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8th, no i havent. cheers for the explanation. |
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Such a bad idea. You might as well throw them in a silty river and let them get buried in sand. |
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This gives little control over what happens to the waste and does not allow monitoring. Furthermore, volcanoes are generally located in regions prone to seismic activity, and magma pressure itself can split rock and blow holes in the sides of mountains. |
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And being as they are at the tops of mountains, any contaminated groundwater would run downhill over a wide area. The area around the base of volcanoes is commonly extensively cultivated, and you would risk poisoning it. |
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