CHWM Research Center Provides Answers about Defense-Relate Nuclear Waste

摘要

In 1943 on an isolated expanse of desert dotted with green-gray sagebrush, construction crews started building a top secret chemical facility known as T-Plant. It housed the first industrial process to pluck plutonium for the nation's nuclear arsenal from irradiated fuel rods. Operating T-Plant and similar facilities created radioactive wastes in Washington State, Idaho, and South Carolina. The Cold War waste-approximately 90 million gallons-is in 100-plus interim storage tanks. The best approach to permanently store the waste, and keep it away from soil and groundwater, is to turn it into a solid material.