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I am trying to find out if it is somehow possible to take all this nuclear material, put it in some type of gamma chamber or blast it with neutrons to change the uranium isotopes into something harmless. Somehow neutralize the entire reaction.

It seems that if we can create enriched uranium, then we should be able to do something in the opposite direction. Even if a single chamber of this sort cost a hundred billion dollars, if it was able to neutralize all the spent nuclear waste across the world within a year, it would be well worthwhile for governments and organizations to invest.

Perhaps teams of grant and proposal writers to put this into reality as soon as possible.

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    $\begingroup$ What's your question? We've been dealing with active waste for 71 years, and found no answer so far. Transmutation will be energy inefficient. $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 3, 2013 at 5:53
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    $\begingroup$ Have a look at Generation IV reactors. Currently in development, but they have the potential to use current nuclear waste as their fuel, and their waste is less radioactive and far easier to process safely. $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 3, 2013 at 7:00
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    $\begingroup$ Also, the Fukushima incident is a triumph for nuclear power, despite what you might've heard on the news. $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 3, 2013 at 7:01
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    $\begingroup$ @RodyOldenhuis Wish I could give you ten upvotes for those links! $\endgroup$
    – Michael
    Commented Sep 3, 2013 at 12:23
  • $\begingroup$ Can't call this an answer but consider this. In order to produce enriched uranium or plutonium, we use techniques such as neutron bombardment on more or less harmless uranium. That means, if we were to somehow reverse the process, we'd end up taking radioactive material and turning it to harmless material (that's good) but we'd also have a stream of neutron radiation pouring out at us (very very bad). It would probably kill anyone nearby. So until someone comes up with a way to clean it up without reversing the process, we're stuck with waste $\endgroup$
    – Jim
    Commented Sep 3, 2013 at 12:52

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The simple answer to your question is, No, we cannot do anything to the three reactor coriums because, to date, noone knows where the three coriums created by the meltdowns are located. Robots sent into the hot buildings are simply consumed by the radiation and are still in there, immobile. No human, even in the radiation suits, can survive more than a few minutes and would come out, virtually dead. Borehole cameras were consumed until fiber optic cameras that stay outside the intense radiation inside the buildings were used. These can only look down into the very outside rooms of the buildings. Looking for meters-deep cooling water, they only find cm deep water. The intensely radioactive water, obviously, runs right out of the building into the ground and into the Pacific, which has, or soon will, kill it. Lots of your practical answers can be found on enenews.com every day. The hundreds of tanks of highly radioactive cooling water now stored in tanks all over Fuku's property have a continuous Bremsstrahlung radiation all around them. It is increasing, alarmingly, and nothing is done about it. Japan and Tepco denials are ignored lies, even by the Japanese people.

One can only hope the genius of physics that created this problem will, before it consumes us all, be brought to bear on solving this disaster. Three years of inaction is criminal.

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  • $\begingroup$ Actually, inaction will eventually solve the problem due to radioactive decay. 3 years done, 997 to go... $\endgroup$ Commented Jan 17, 2014 at 21:59

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