There is still no known way to safely dispose of radioactive waste, which stays deadly for 100,000s of years. By default, high level radioactive waste is stored at reactor sites. Due to health and safety concerns Texas refused to commission low-level radioactive waste sites in the state in the 1990s. Texas’ current agreement sending low level waste to South Carolina will expire in 2008.
All radioactive materials decay over time. In fact scientists know exactly how long each radioactive material takes to decay. When analyzing a shipment of low-level waste to a plant in Ohio, scientists discovered that after 100 years virtually all the radioactivity would no longer exist. No effect on cancer rates, no effect on births and no effect on public health has ever been found for people living near low-level disposal facilities. In fact science has not shown any link between low-level waste disposal sites and any disease (including birth defects). A study in western New York State looked at a facility that contained both high-level and low-level radioactive waste. They looked at the cancer rates in seven surrounding counties over 10 years. They found no impact on cancer rates. As far as the packaging for disposal, there are strict methods used to isolate the waste that protect humans and the environment. “In dry climates, where little moisture reaches the waste, burying it in engineered shallow trenches is suitable.” For more humid climates the wastes are placed in concrete canisters. The spaces between canisters are filled with sand to function as drainage material that will channel water away from the waste to prevent leakage into the environment. The NRC’s regulations for disposal sites include natural resources being avoided, the site being suitable distance from ground or surface water, and they can’t be in areas of geological activity. The designs for building disposal facilities include:
The closing of the Barnwell disposal site in South Carolina is set to take place on June 30th of the coming year. Access to this facility will be available only to members of the Atlantic Compact. There is a great need for long-term disposal of low-level waste in a safe manner in order to avoid the risk involved in spreading the storage of these products across the state. We risk curbing the advances in areas such as modern medicine, consumer product safety and electricity generation if we don’t act now to seek responsible disposal for low-level wastes.