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December 4, 2009 Men's genes 'may limit lifespan' Men carry the seeds of their own destruction in the genes present in their sperm, research suggests. Scientists working on mice have highlighted a specific gene that, although carried by both sexes, appears to be active only in males. They believe it allows males to grow bigger bodies but at the expense of their longevity. The study, by Tokyo University of Agriculture, appears in the journal Human Reproduction. Ch. 16 (wastes) & 17 (water pollution) Types of Radioactive Waste Low Level from hospitals, labs and industry paper, rags, tools, clothing, filters % by Volume Transuranic (intermediate) resins, chemical sludges, reactor components High Level spent fuel, nuclear weapons % by radioactivity Fuel: 56,000 MT Defense: 11,000 MT Total: 67,000 MT How is HLRW Stored? Liquid Solid Vitrification Synroc ceramic Synroc Management of Wastes Long term options (potential problems?) bury in ocean floor launch into space put in polar ice sheets subduction zones bedrock caverns • ‘delay-and-decay’ Underground Storage Multiple Barrier Concept Host rock • stable geology • low porosity & permeability, unfractured – e.g., granite, basalt, tuffs, shale, salt domes Engineered barriers • canisters, shielding, backfill Solid waste form • vitrified or ceramic form reduces mobility Why Yucca Mountain? • Dry climate, remote location, stable geology, deep water table, welded tuffs, Nevada Test Site (NTS) • Underground repository must safely isolate highly radioactive nuclear waste for at least 10,000 years. 3-D image of YM with tunnels Perforated Sheet YM Geologic Cross Section Water table ▼ Seepage Studies T. Kneafsey Capillarity and evaporation Boiling and drying Fracture sealing S. Finsterle J. Birkholzer