Radioactive Waste From Mother Nature

Ss] Radioactive Waste From Mother Nature (NAPSA)—The first nuclear reactor on Earth operated more than 14 billion years ago. In 1972, scientists found the remains of this natural nuclear reactor in a uranium mine in Africa. They determined that about 1,406 rul- A natural nuclear reactor operated in Gabon, Africa more than 1% billion years ago. lion years ago a nuclear chain reaction had oceurred in the uraniumore. Howwas that possible? Conditions were just right. Then, the composition of natural uranium allowed a chain reaction to develop in a rich deposit of uranium, when water was present. The Okle natural reactor gener- ated heat off and on—for up to 506,000 years. Over time the con- centration of Aissionable uranium decreased until the chain reaction stopped. The discovery’s real impor- tance? This natural fission reactor produced radioactive wastes sirai- lar to those from modern nuclear reactors. The radioactive wastes from the Oklo reactors (scientists iden- tified several) were found essentially where they were made more than a billion years ago. They hadn’t contaminated the area outside the mine. Today we would use special containers to hold the waste and tbe knowledge we have about how to safely store and dispose of solidified nuclear wastes. For more information visit the American Nuclear Society Web site at http://www.ans.org/pi/np/oklo. For printed material, call 708-3526611 (ask for PE Dept-Oklo).