Recycling along convergent ocean trenches

dwilwohl

What is the feasability to utilizing the convergent ocean trenches as a means of recycling nuclear material and heavy metals? Basically, return to the Earth where the stuff came from in first place?

D H

It's not feasible, and even if it were, it would be a very bad idea.

Compare with Yucca Mountain, which was selected because it is remote, arid, and geologically stable. The latter two characteristics are essential so as to avoid problems with corrosion and earthquakes exposing the hazardous waste to the environment. The remoteness provides a contingency in case of exposure. Those ocean trenches are remote, but they are anything but arid and geologically stable. The immense pressure and salty water is a perfect environment for corrosion, and those subduction zones are the sites of the most intense earthquakes on the planet. Sans an unobtanium barrel, the waste will be exposed to the environment in short order, well before subduction draws the materials downward.

dwilwohl

Would be nice if we could ever get Yucc Mountain open and running.

Andre

there are more reasons.

Subduction is very slow and

dwilwohl

So, not a good idea after all :-(

Andre

Don't worry, the problem is that there are so very few good ideas remaining with all the increasing knowledge levels of humanity.

dwilwohl

Spent 2 years in Afghanistan, the place is a dump. Figure with all the best and brightest, real, actionable, managable solutions for cleaning up the planet should be available.