GGR223 Assignment #2 Department Of Geography: Analysis Of Environmental ‘Objects’

Radiation
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Radiation
The act of storing and disposing nuclear and other radioactively active wastes within a country from Industrial activities, research and medicine productions comes with more risks and chances than international waste management (NFCRC, 2016, p.1). Managing nuclear wastes is a multi-disciplinary process including fuel cycle starts at the exploration of active minerals to the last stage of disposing the fuel residues (NFCRC, 2016, p.1). This process is concerned with the different forms of mass conversions to energy like light, or release of active sources for use in health, and material applications among others.
Domestically produced radioactive waste, which comes from the former and current activities in a state. These activities derive benefits from nuclear medicine and other industrial actions and have risks to a country (Wattal, 2013, p.848). Opportunities are also created to the people working in these sectors must design proper disposal mechanisms. Different technical questions come up during nuclear waste management. However, the most important in this case include public concerns, recognition, and location for a dumping site, designing and administrating the implementation of repositories, as Wattal (2013, p.848) states.
There are factors that determine the social and community engagement. Some of them include volume of waste to manage, risks posed, available tie for decision, and the type of society one is working in. Enrico (2013, p. 580) and Stanic (2011, p. 120) agree that for safe waste management and storage social consent demands massive consideration compared to the technicalities in planning and development. The technical aspects involve geology, engineering, land use among others. Generally, it requires complex plans and scientific thought Enrico (2013, p. 581). Community aspects involve enforcing the knowhow of the people, creating regular awareness, and getting and maintaining social support during the process. Attempts to dispose nuclear wastes without community support have failed in a number of countries.
In attempts to come up with legislations guarding radioactive wastes communities have been seen as the most hindering factor. The community if not given enough information of the radioactive waste in their area they will decline calling for new negation (Stanic, 2016, p.127). The community should be consulted regarding protection during nuclear plant setups, when managing fuel and radioactive residues, and during the regulation of transportations of used these dangerous products (Stanic, 2016, p.125). In deposition of the radioactive waste the community must be assured no soil and water contamination. Though the community method has worked in some places its dangerous as the content of the waste may not be clearly discussed with them. Therefore the best alternative is government legislation and policy regarding disposal of radioactive wastes.
Radioactive wastes are in three major categories exempt wastes, small, average and extraordinary levels. Exempt wastes have low radioactivity to warrant security. Small and average levels have short and long-lived wastes (Rahman et al., 2011, p. 551). Extraordinary levels have both combinations of the small and average radionuclides. Nuclear waste irrespective of the level is harmful to human, animals and plants lives. Therefore, most of these types of levels of wastes need confinement and disposal for safety reasons. For low level, their hazardous effects reduce with time if isolated due radioactivity.
The isolation should be safe and there should be no contact with radioactive materials and the biospheres for longer times to decrease the dangers to least effects on organisms. The risks posed by nuclear waste in a place need an evaluation to find the risks levels to reduce its harms. It should be isolated based on the results. Nuclear wastes hazard effects related to radioactive materials needs administration from the fact that environmental and human safety is of great importance. With the level of radiation waste increasing, the confinement also increases its needs to do away with the material out of the environment.
Federal government has the mandate to control and manage most nuclear wastes, both low and intermediate levels. The advantage of this is managing long-term risks by building a centralized facility. Waste management should undergo several procedures like licensing that needs forecasting models of the effectiveness of the system and checks if it is in line with the legislations on nuclear wastes. Licensing requires that everyone disposing radioactive substances report to the authorities in charge.
This helps in the protection of public workers, general public and the environment from harmful radioactive wastes. This has an advantage over the community agreement as the exact details of the contents of waste to be disposed must be revealed before the license is given. In addition, there are enough experts in governments to gauge the dangers the public could expose themselves to incase of a wrong disposal methods or procedures.
Models can be used to determine radioactive material production and their effects. In modeling such systems source of radiation is a priority (Stanic, 2013, p.118). These designs use complex processes from the physical phenomena occurring at the nuclear reactors. From these models, only...