Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/02/02
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Oooo, Raimo, better not to speak when you do not know. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Raimo K" <raimo.m.korhonen@uusikaupunki.fi> To: "Leica Users Group" <lug@leica-users.org> Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2006 11:17 AM Subject: Re: [Leica] RE: LUG Digest, Vol 31, Issue 221 > How can used stuff have more radiation than unused? If it had, it would be > usable. > OK, it is concentrated into granules but if you store it deep in stable > rock caves (like we plan to do in Finland) and take into account the > immense mass of stone around the storage I see no way it can have > increased radiation compared with hot uranium mines. > All the best! > Raimo K > Personal photography homepage at: > http://www.uusikaupunki.fi/~raikorho > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Douglas Sharp" <douglas.sharp@gmx.de> > To: "Leica Users Group" <lug@leica-users.org> > Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2006 12:51 AM > Subject: Re: [Leica] RE: LUG Digest, Vol 31, Issue 221 > > >> Hello Frank, >> the refined stuff has a much higher radiation output than the ores - >> think of tiny granules of uranium mixed in with great chunks of rock >> which, at least partially stop the radiation, and, btw, make uranium >> mines so hot. >> There is one method of sealing nuclear waste which is effective as far as >> it goes, sealing it in glass with a large proportion of lead (which >> doesn't shield from radiation, it absorbs it and changes over time) this >> has again the inherent problem of heat, the energy has to come out >> somewhere. Before somebody suggests dropping it into volcanos, the molten >> lava is much too close to the surface, getting sprayed with molten rock >> is bad enough, but making it radioactive too is a bit much. >> >> As to the plastics, there are some fascinating developments on the way >> with high quality plastics made from potato starches and waste straw from >> maize crops, then there's always multitudes of natural vegetable oils >> which haven't really been tested for making the polymers we need for >> plastics. >> The power of biological products can be seen in the recipe for casein >> glue - just mix curds and chalk - one of the best and oldest glues there >> is. >> The energy business is going to become one of the main areas for the >> development of genetically modified plant strains, the other area is the >> creation of bacteria which can reduce waste plastics to their original >> source materials - but that is a pandora's box I don't care to think >> about - just let a bacterium like that get out of hand or mutated and >> start chewing up plastics just where it shouldn't, I shudder at the >> thought. >> It's interesting that most of the large oil companies are working very >> hard in this direction, particularly Shell and BP, they want to have the >> market cornered when the time is ripe. There was a research project for >> loosening up heavy oil deposits in a reservoir by dropping anaerobic >> bacteria down through the borehole, but I left the business before >> hearing more about it. >> The last stuff I was working on was the localisation of deep seated magma >> bodies for geothermal energy production in Tuscany (Larderello,where >> they've been doing it since the early 1920s) my theory for variations in >> their heat production was that these bodies are also subject to tidal >> forces caused by the position of the moon pulling them closer to the >> surface, unfortunately I never did hear what came of that either. At >> least there was a significant increase in microseismicity (tiny earth >> tremors) at full moon, which seems to support my theory. >> To get back on track, the visit to ENEL GreenPower in Pisa was a >> wonderful opportunity to wander around that beautiful city with a camera. >> cheers >> Douglas >> >> Frank Dernie wrote: >> >>> Douglas, >>> I have always wanted to ask a specialist this question, and it looks >>> like you may just be the person......... >>> What is wrong with burying nuclear waste in the exhausted mines from >>> which it originated? Presumably it won't be any more dangerous there >>> than the raw nuclear material originally mined???? >>> The biggest concern I have re oil is not its use as a fuel, that seems >>> a terrible waste to me, but as the raw material for manufacturing >>> materials such as plastics for which we have no reasonable alternative. >>> Frank >>> >>> On 1 Feb, 2006, at 19:30, Douglas Sharp wrote: >>> >>>> The technologiy is clean enough, and close to being as safe as it can >>>> be - the problem is still nuclear waste. As a production and >>>> exploration geophysicist I've worked on nuclear waste storage sites, >>>> working and prospective, in Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and a few >>>> other places. For the long-term storage of nuclear waste there is NO >>>> really safe solution, that stuff stays highly radioactive on a >>>> geological time scale. >>>> Salt dome caverns are no good - salt moves and migrates so you've >>>> never got a constant thickness shielding your waste, the Swiss >>>> solution of putting it in caverns blasted out of native impervious >>>> (supposedly) rocks is better but radiactive gases (Radon for example) >>>> always manage to find a way to the surface. The Belgian method of >>>> hiding it under a thin layer of impervious clay isn't a long term >>>> solution either. >>>> So what do we do with it? Shooting it into the sun is the only real >>>> way of getting rid of it, there's been enough dropped into the sea and >>>> more than enough buried already, these "fly-dumps" will take their >>>> revenge on the environment one of theses days. >>>> You say that present day technologies are safe, I agree - problem is, >>>> even the most recent reactors just haven't been built with these new >>>> technologies, Temsvar in the Czech Republic is one of the newest NPSs >>>> and is just not safe, the same applies to the latest French reactors, >>>> Germany's reactors have been plagued with problems and Sellafield in >>>> the UK is a dirty word already. No need to mention reactors in the >>>> former soviet block countries....... >>>> >>>> Fusion power is pie-in-the-sky (unless the billions for defence are >>>> re-channeled), you might just as well try a further development of >>>> Nikolaus Tesla's idea by building orbiting spaceborne solar power >>>> stations transmitting power as high energy microwave frequencies back >>>> to earth, though I dread to think what would happen if a plane flew >>>> through one of those tight banded transmissions. >>>> The only clean options are terrestrial solar energy farms, wind and >>>> tidal energy and geothermal energy - these are the only future I can >>>> see in power production. >>>> >>>> Some of the latest developments reek of science fiction but could be >>>> effective - half mile high chimneys set up in desert regions, the >>>> temperature differential between ground level and the top creates >>>> winds of incredible velocities, all you have to do is put aturbine in >>>> the way of it. Using waste energy (off peak production is always too >>>> high and just gets wasted) from conventional power stations to pump >>>> water into high level reservoirs >>>> to run hydroelectric turbines at peak demand times, storing energy as >>>> compressed air in salt domes is another option, use it to supply the >>>> energy needed to get gas turbines running. >>>> >>>> None of these, however give us any kind of solution for automotive >>>> transport - when the oil runs out we're going to back with sailing >>>> ships and steam engines again, individual or personal transportation >>>> will be the rich man's game. >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Leica Users Group. >>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >>> >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >