The 10,000 Year Problem

Nuclear Waste and the Fuel Cycle

Classifying the "Trash"

Tools, clothing, and filters. Low radioactivity, safe within decades.

Spent fuel rods. Extremely radioactive and hot. Contains 95% of the total radioactivity.

95%

Of Nuclear Fuel is Recyclable

Most countries reprocess fuel; the US currently stores it as "waste."

Radioactivity doesn't disappear; it fades at a predictable, mathematical rate.

After 10 half-lives, radioactivity is reduced to ~0.1% of its original level.

The engineering solution is to bury waste 500 meters underground in stable rock formations.

Requirements:

Deep Isolation

Finland's Onkalo is the world's first operational deep-storage site, designed to last 100,000 years.

Language Fails

Old English is only 1,000 years old and unreadable to most today.

Symbols Fails

Will the "trefoil" radiation symbol still mean danger in 8,000 AD?

Physical Design

"Landscape of Thorns"—designing land that looks physically terrifying.