Please watch the wonderful documentary about the very long term nuclear waste depot, Onkalo in Finland. It has just aired on Danish Television 2 and it is currently available in their streaming archives
http://www.dr.dk/tv/se/into-eternity/into-eternity
Highly radioactive nuclear waste is not something we can do anything about using current technology, and it has to be stored safely on a geologically time scale, 100,000 years.
First
It is fantastic that Finland is taking the problem seriously and has a long term storage facility in place BEFORE they really need it, that commands respect!
In Denmark we have a few kilograms of the from the research facility Risø, as far as I have found out 233 kg. We didn’t even use it to produce energy and we can’t figure out to take responsibility for it, and I agree with Dansk Naturfredningsforening: Danmark skal håndtere eget atomaffald (Denmark should handle it’s own nuclear waste http://www.dn.dk/Default.aspx?ID=37551.
Second
As a dane you’re probably contributing to the financing of Onkalo through your electricy bill. Even though we don’t produce nuclear energy in Denmark, on my bill from DONG it lists that I get 8% of my power from nuclear.
Third
I don’t believe that we have the technology nor the knowledge to build anything that will stand on a geologic timescale, the oldest still standing structure we have is the egyptian pyramids and they look pretty worn despite having only stood the test of time for 5,000 years.
When I asked the director of the movie, Michael Madsen (not to be confused with the actor), at the premier if the conclusion wasn’t that “we should just stop!”, he, wisely, only commended that he didn’t make a political movie.
ARE YOU GROWN UP YET, HUMANITY?
See also
- Kim Bach . Org: I’m getting “Lunatics” https://www.kimbach.org/2014/10/02/im-getting-lunatics/ (accessed November 23, 2014)
References
- Wikipedia contributors, “Onkalo spent nuclear fuel repository,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Onkalo_spent_nuclear_fuel_repository&oldid=630626008 (accessed November 23, 2014).
- Wikipedia contributors, “Deep geological repository,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Deep_geological_repository&oldid=632849366 (accessed November 23, 2014).
- Wikipedia contributors, “Into Eternity (film),” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Into_Eternity_(film)&oldid=585708472 (accessed November 23, 2014).
- Wikipedia contributors, “Radioactive waste,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Radioactive_waste&oldid=634193600 (accessed November 23, 2014).
- Dansk Naturfredningsforening: Danmark skal håndtere eget atomaffald (Denmark should handle it’s own nuclear waste http://www.dn.dk/Default.aspx?ID=37551. (accessed November 23, 2014) (in danish).