I have studied our Earth's Problems over the years and have come up with some Ideas to solve them.
FACTS:
It will cost Trillions and Trillions of dollars to maintain & guard Nuclear Waste against Terrorists / Pollution for the Waste's half-life of 1,000 YEARS OR MORE.
The Space Shuttle Program, Space Station & Space Exploration Projects are HURTING for Money.
There is actually NO SAFE PLACE ON EARTH to store Nuclear Waste for 1,000 YEARS OR MORE!
With our Modern Capabilities we can build Explosion Proof Containers.
MY PROPOSED SOLUTION:
Send with every Shuttle Launch a container or Radioactive Waste to the Space Station.
They collect the Containers and when enough are Present, Strap them together with a rocket and send them off on a capture orbit to the moon.
Doesn't matter how fast they go, just so they end up on the Moon. Would be nice if they end up in about one place.
This accomplishes 3 things:
We won't have to pay Trillions to store AND GUARD for 1,000 years with terrorists/pollution risks - it would cost only a few million. We'd have 999 years of NOT HAVING TO PAY!
All the users of Nuclear Power pay to have Nuclear Waste Disposal, this would mean EVERY SHUTTLE / SPACE LAUNCH WOULD BE PREPAID FOR, SOLVING THEIR SPACE EXPLORATION MONEY CRUNCH. just carry a container with EVERY Launch.
We will have the Nuclear Materials for possible Power on the Moon for Expeditions in the future as we evolve our Waste Disposal Techniques to reuse this material.
Safe execution of this plan with no real risk to the public. EXTREMELY BENEFICIAL TO THE PUBLIC IN THE LONG RUN! BOTH FINANCIALLY AND HEALTHWISE.
As I said before, THERE'S REALLY NO SAFE PLACE ON EARTH TO STORE NUCLEAR WASTE FOR 1,000 YEARS - IT'S ALREADY CAUSING PROBLEMS!!!
MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION!!!
Let me know what you think of this solution.
Comments (14)
I agree, if there is a safe way, let's explore the possibilities!
The only thing that bothers me is, what if these containers somehow exploded on the moon? Would we have no moon left? Would radiation permeate space, where would it go?
I tried to get this idea off the ground a long time ago, but my destination for it was the sun. Once it gets within the orbit of Mercury, it will flash vaporize and become a negligible quantity of solar wind. Give it a heat seeking guidance system to get it on track to target, a radar for collision avoidance with anything it might meet out there and let it add to the mix.
space is very large and we have planets we will never use. would it be wrong to use a dead planet as our space dump?
If you store nuclear waste inside the containment system of a pebble bed reactor it degrades much more rapidly.
Have Superman whip them into the sun, like he did in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.
The pebble bed reactor is a nice idea, but it doesn't seem to work just yet and with the amount of spent radioactive fuel, it's doubtful they would be able to process much.
I hope you didn't stay up nights trying to formulate the Superman response. Tell DARPA your idea, they love working with comic book material.
I think the pebble bed reactor technology is a more realistic alternative and closer to reality than the alternatives expressed above. Besides, looking at some of the conceptual designs I think that one pebble bed reactor will be able to handle the waste from around 10 breeder reactors.
Whatever the real solution I think it should involve recycling the material somehow not dumping it. The nuclear material originated here on earth we should be able to find a way that recycles it somehow.
Just do it. I've given up on this site.
They are recycling it in the form of depleted uranium ammunition. The manufacturers get it free, the civilians start wars, send the military with their corporate weapons and they get to spread cancer with the DU after it's been fired and turned to powder. That way, the powder can get into your body any way it can and kill you from the inside. Reports of multiple cancers that have been very uncommon have increased dramatically ever since that stuff has been expended. It won't go away in our lifetime and it's been called the gift that keeps on giving. I certainly hope you can think of a better idea than that.
I have preached this for years. If the Moon seems too scary why not sling them into the Sun?
If you look at the amount of fuel it requires to lift a pound of anything into orbit then multiply it by the amount of nuclear waste the amount of money required to lift it into orbit and then launch it anywhere is truly astronomical. It makes the bailout funds look like a drop in the bucket.
OK, save the fuel, how about a space tether?
http://www.tethers.com/