Building cement 'prison' for old radioactive waste
January 11, 2011 By Sandra Chung
Enlarge
Bacteria and hard water can give heavy metals a hard time. Scientists coax underground microbes to turn calcium-rich water and urea into a stony underground trap for contaminants.
The Cold War ended long ago, but its radioactive legacy still lingers in the water and soil of the western United States. Between 1950 and 1990, nuclear weapons materials production and processing at several federal facilities generated billions of gallons of water contaminated with radioactive byproducts.
No comments:
Post a Comment