Nature deposit of nuclear waste

2001/05/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Geologia

Several geologists analyze the evolution of a natural uranium field, hoping to find a way to manage nuclear waste. The sink under study is one of the richest uranium deposits in the United States and is located in the state of Virginia, on Coles Hill. Although they found it thirty years ago, it has so far been closed. The situation of this site is very curious.

The underground water is about 11 meters deep, while the rocky bed is about 20 meters deep. However, the pit uranium has remained there hundreds of thousands of years without extending to the area. This phenomenon is what geologists want to study, since normally uranium is very dispersed. Somehow, nature has developed a system of maintenance of uranium in the pit. According to geologists, it is some mineral (phosphorus, probably) that has prevented the dispersion of uranium in the middle.