The Battle For Yucca Mountain

July 16, 1945; 05:29:21 A.M Mountain Western Time: [1] a light stronger than a thousand suns filled the sky in the deserts of New Mexico, the father of the deadliest instrument ever used in warfare grimly remarked: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” The successful detonation of the first Atomic Bomb triggered an arms races beyond the scope of most people's imagination; it immediately and fundamentally changed the conduct of nations. Behind of all the politics, warfare and propaganda was a theoretical physicist named Robert Oppenheimer - he was tasked with the creation of this diabolical weapon. Robert Oppenheimer was a man who did not fire a single bullet or order a single

Nuclear waste is a radioactive waste that is dangerous, and a fair percentage of people would agree on this topic. However, is it really dangerous or is it just harmful to an extent? In society, many debates are held over trying to prove to the world that this substance is harmful. In the essay, “Nuclear Waste,” Muller states clearly that he sides with the anti-nuke of the debate and how he pinpoints the facts of nuclear waste with great persuasion. Yet, it is uncertain whether Muller clearly has a good argument and/or answers the questions that many people linger to know.

When someone thinks of problems plaguing the world, nuclear energy is not the first thing that comes to peoples minds these days.[1]Nuclear power was once deemed the new energy of the future.[2]However, numerous nuclear power plant accidents around the world put a damper on that notion.The United States considers itself one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, but 103 nuclear reactors currently operating within her borders, one was bound to fail sometime or another.[3]

The word “Nuclear” instills fear in the general American public’s mind. The simple utter of said word brings memories of huge mushrooms clouds and destruction, or the thought of communism and 50 years of an uncertain, yet terrifying Cold War. Whatever it may be the fact of the matter is that Americans are extremely afraid of anything that has the word Nuclear in it. In the article “Nuclear Waste” published in 2008 by physics professor, and winner of the MacArthur Fellowship award, Richard Muller claims that storing nuclear waste under the Nevada Yucca Mountains can prove to be a safe and efficient way to solve the problem of nuclear waste disposal. Muller supports his argument by first providing the reader with the anti-nuke

“I have become death,the destroyer of worlds.” Robert Oppenheimer. Robert wanted to do his part for his country and was excited to led a big project which was believed to be needed to win a war. But in the end it wasn’t as crucial as was thought and Robert realized that this could end the world and upon completion killed 220,000 people and that the Atom bomb would and did lead to an even bigger threat.

“Now, I am become death the destroyer of worlds”(Oppenheimer, J. Robert, July 16, 1945). Robert Oppenheimer said this famous quote after the successful atomic bomb testing in New Mexico as part as the Manhattan project on July 16, 1945. That day marked a very important day in history that led to the end of the war with Japan. This was nearly an idea when Einstein came up with the theory of E=MC². Then, as the war progressed, the idea became more and more of a reality. As it did, the Germans pushed to make the bomb first and get the equation from Einstein. He thought it would not be in the right hands if it went to them, so he came to the Americans. The Americans started working on the bomb after speculation by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Long term storage of nuclear waste has been a debated topic for many years. “The properties of nuclear waste that affect the disposal strategy include radioactivity, chemistry, and thermal output” (Long & Ewing, 2004). Nuclear waste contains uranium and plutonium that have exhausted their energy potential. These materials have a very long half-life, which is the amount of time it takes to lose half its energy, and some half-lives can take thousands of years. In 1982 the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) mandated that the Department of Energy (DOE) create regulations to find a suitable site for long term storage. With that the DOE recommended Yucca Mountain as the number one option. Since then scientists have been studying the site to make sure

So what is nuclear waste, I hear you ask. It is what's left over after nuclear fuel has been through the reactor, once used in the reactor it'll make nuclear energy what's left behind is dangerously radioactive. Uranium is the main component of what goes in a reactor and it is split into almost every other atoms there are during the reaction so it's no longer stable and safe. Nuclear waste is very dangerous and for those of you who have seen to many movies or read to many comic books where people who come

“Now I am become Death,the destroyer of worlds.”This famous quote was said as the father of the atomic bomb watched in horror as the mushroom cloud engulfed the horizon.During world war two the United states was developing a weapon that would win the war.Franklin D Roosevelt started an operation known as the Manhattan Project or the development of the first nuclear weapon.

The Yucca Mountain is a very interesting geological area in Nevada only about 90 miles north of Las Vegas. Located in the large desert area adjacent to Death Valley, it is currently used as a nuclear waste repository designated by the United States Department of Energy. The mountain lies in the mountainous Great Basin with numerous valleys and ridges. The Yucca Mountain has a very rich geological history that dates back hundreds of millions of years ago. Yucca’s base layer of rocks were first deposited during the Pre-Cambrian geological period billions of years ago. This was followed by other layers of rocks that were deposited throughout the years including carbonate, shale, and other marine sedimentary rocks. Because of its placement amongst faults, many volcanic and seismic activity has occurred. These volcanic eruptions have built up layers of ignimbrite (See Pic 1 below) which consists of welded and non-welded tuff. These alternating layers of welded tuff and non-welded tuff have many geological implications that are of interest to geological researchers. This tuff is densely made up of volcanic ash and rock fragments from the lava which were fused together to form many layers. The volcanic remains and layers have come together to form the ridge line that we see today as the Yucca Mountain. It is very clear to see that the geographical and geological properties of the Yucca Mountain makes it an interesting

Nuclear weapons have an effect on everyone in the world and even on the future generations. They affect everything from the soil to people’s genes. This research will make the reader more aware of a subject of a subject that is rarely talked about. America promotes non-proliferation but has more than 10 000 nuclear warheads in its arsenal. In addition, America is the only country to have ever used nuclear weapons; twice during WWII on Japan. This caused the death of hundreds of thousands with the effect of the bombs still being seen today. America has a huge influence over the weapons and nuclear industry and change must start from

the advent of the nuclear age brought with it increased concern about national security as well as human survival. since the first atomic bomb was exploded over hiroshima on august 6 1945 advances in nuclear technology and delivery systems have only served to enhance the potential dangers. whereas almost 100,000 people lost their lives on the fateful day in hiroshima, nuclear weapons currently threaten the lives of hundreds of millions. the nuclear revolution has resulted in the develpment of bombs measured in

After 30 years ever since Chernobyl, the U.S has been using nuclear energy has a type of fuel. To start, Chernobyl was one of the world’s worst nuclear disaster. A fire caused an explosion to occur at the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine and forced more than 300,000 people to flee and caused radiation levels that are still harmful today. After this incident, the U.S continues to use nuclear energy as a type of fuel for buildings and more, but a meltdown or an explosion in the U.S is unlikely to happen because of how safe facilities are in the U.S. A meltdown will rarely happen, but what is worse is the accumulation of radioactive waste and the U.S have been ignoring the fact that this is a problem. The discovery of radioactive waste is important

Nuclear power is a widely debated topic about whether or not it is worth the energy produced. Nuclear generators most commonly use a form of uranium to super heat water and produce electricity. However when the fuel rods containing the uranium are spent they leave behind large amounts of spent nuclear waste. This is one of the most serious issues concerning nuclear power production. As of now most of the waste we produce is stored underground but it can take over a thousand years for the radiation levels in this waste to lower enough to be safe. The question we are now facing is how do we deal with all of this waste we keep building up?

Radioactive waste contains radioactive substances, which are used for the production of nuclear power and in other scientific fields such as nuclear fission or nuclear technology (Hidaka, Yuan, and ebrary, 2012). Currently, although the use of radioactive materials has provided great benefits to society, the radioactive waste issue has been widely discussed in terms of being a huge problem that may affect natural environmental systems, and also human health (Ojovan & Knovel, 2011).