December 4, 2009December 4, 2009

Men carry the seeds of their own destruction in the genes present in their sperm, research suggests. Scientists working on mice have highlighted a specific gene that, although carried by both sexes, appears to be active only in males. They believe it allows males to grow bigger bodies - but at the expense of their longevity. The study, by Tokyo University of Agriculture, appears in the journal Human Reproduction.

Ch. 16 (wastes) & 17 (water pollution)

Men's genes 'may limit lifespan'

% by Volume

% by radioactivity

Types of Radioactive Waste

Low Level from hospitals, labs and

industrypaper, rags, tools, clothing,

filters

Transuranic (intermediate) resins, chemical sludges,

reactor components

High Levelspent fuel, nuclear weapons

Fuel: 56,000 MTDefense: 11,000 MTTotal: 67,000 MT

ceramic Synroc

How is HLRW Stored?

Liquid Solid

VitrificationSynroc

Management of Wastes

Long term options (potential problems?) bury in ocean floor launch into spaceput in polar ice sheetssubduction zonesbedrock caverns

• ‘delay-and-decay’

Underground Storage

Multiple Barrier Concept Host rock

• stable geology • low porosity & permeability, unfractured

– e.g., granite, basalt, tuffs, shale, salt domes Engineered barriers

• canisters, shielding, backfill Solid waste form

• vitrified or ceramic form reduces mobility

• Dry climate, remote location, stable geology, deep water table, welded tuffs, Nevada Test Site (NTS)

• Underground repository must safely isolate highly radioactive nuclear waste for at least 10,000 years.

Why Yucca Mountain?

3-D image of YM with tunnels

PerforatedPerforatedSheetSheet

Water table ▼

YM Geologic Cross Section

S. Finsterle

Seepage Studies Capillarity and evaporation Boiling and drying Fracture sealing

J. Birkholzer

T. Kneafsey