Looking at nuclear glass darkly.

• Author: Robertson, Henry
• Position: Biodevastation

Greens agree that we should end nuclear waste transport and stop the Yucca Mountain repository. To this end the Michigan Greens have added a plank to their platform embracing the technology of in situ vitrification (ISV) to store nuclear waste at power plants encased in lumps of glass.

They should have heeded the larger goal succinctly stated in the GPUSA platform: "Shut down nuclear power plants." If ISV ever came into commercial use it would only serve to perpetuate nuclear power.

Recipe for ISV:

Insert four electrodes into the ground in a square about 18 feet on a side. Zap in enough electricity to liquefy the soil; 2.5-4 megawatts ought to do it. Heat to 1500-2000[degrees]C. Allow newly formed glass to cool. Yields up to 150 tons per day. Repeat as often as necessary. The electrodes bore deeper, melting soil to a maximum depth of about 20 feet.

Collect toxic gases in a stainless steel hood erected over the melt. Pipe to an off-gas treatment system for a sequence of quenching, scrubbing, de-watering, heating and particulate matter filtration until you have satisfied whatever air pollution regulations apply. [1]

The Glass Isn't Greener

Vitrification is apparently the best method currently known for immobilizing radioactive and other contaminants in soil. It's also the most expensive. If the electricity costs 7 cents per kilowatt hour the price of ISV ranges from $250-$750 a ton. [2]

The process isn't perfect. Cracks in the glass could cause rapid leaching of radioactivity into the soil and groundwater. [3] Brookhaven National Laboratory rejected ISV after a pilot study in 1996 raised questions about its effectiveness. [4]

In 1996 an explosion occurred at a "treatability study" on Cold War-era nuclear waste at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. It was blamed on failure to install vent pipes deep enough to relieve pressure at the lower levels of the melt. The explosion lifted the 7.5-ton off-gas hood off the ground, releasing steam containing small amounts of radioactive material. [5]

Then there was the explosion (still unexplained) at Maralinga, Australia in 1999 where soil contaminated by British nuclear weapons tests was being remediated. [6] The project was abandoned over concerns with both safety and the quality of the end product. [7]

Note that ISV works on soil, the source of the glass. The metallic content must be no more than 15%. Radionuclides have to be incorporated into the soil. Containers like sealed drums may burst under the pressure and...