Nuclear waste storage
A strong body of informed opinion believes that nuclear power will be our only realistic option when the oil and gas run out.
The storage problems are technically soluble. In the United States, the department of energy has decided to go ahead with a storage facility in Yucca Mountain which will hold waste safely for at least 10,000 years, although there are still not-in-my-back-yard hurdles to be overcome. There are schemes for accelerator-driven transmutation techniques under study which could reduce the long-term activity of the waste, and eliminate the need for deep depositories.
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(EMER PROF) IAN S HUGHES
Lettoch Road
Pitlochry, Perthshire