FTFA:
"Swarms were first noticed in the area after nearby farms began using groundwater for irrigation. Some researchers speculate the basalt layers may be sensitive to changes in the water table or water pressure."

Wow, farmers causing earthquakes? Interesting.

I'd be concerned about drawing groundwater from anywhere near that place.

Brockway: I don't understand why we don't refine the waste into nuclear weapons grade material, and then drop it in the form of bombs on places like Afghanistan, North Korea, Sudan, Somalia, and Sweden.

Because fallout knows no ideology, and wind no borders?

I used to work at Hanford, so I'm really getting a kick out of these replies

/Only time in my life I bought bottled water for drinking
//Dosimeters surrounding the river in Richland always was a bit unsettling
///SY-101 used to make me nervous, too
////Aah-oooh-gaah

Procedural Texture: FTFA:
"Swarms were first noticed in the area after nearby farms began using groundwater for irrigation. Some researchers speculate the basalt layers may be sensitive to changes in the water table or water pressure."

Wow, farmers causing earthquakes? Interesting.

We have to burn down their crops. It's the only way.

Occam's Chainsaw: Brockway: I don't understand why we don't refine the waste into nuclear weapons grade material, and then drop it in the form of bombs on places like Afghanistan, North Korea, Sudan, Somalia, and Sweden.

Because fallout knows no ideology, and wind no borders?

The hell it doesn't, boy. When God is on your side, you're shielded from the consequences of your own actions.

maskedloser: I'd be concerned about drawing groundwater from anywhere near that place.

It's in our food now. Oh well.

Brockway: I don't understand why we don't refine the waste into nuclear weapons grade material, and then drop it in the form of bombs on places like Afghanistan, North Korea, Sudan, Somalia, and Sweden.

Because it takes only about 2 weeks for dust from the Middle East to land in the prairies, on normal winds. I don't have the book anymore where I read that though soI can't give a citation (it was something on agriculture and erosion).

...Anyhow, the wind is also why only a total loathsome puke of a military would use depleted uranium rounds. They shatter into dust after they pass through a couple objects, and then blow right back to where the shooter's children live...no matter where that is on earth. Depleted uranium is a military's way of poisoning its own children at home.

Over 1000 tons of the stuff was used in various cities in Iraq in the first few months of combat in 2003, apparently. But wikipedia says it is alright so I won't have to be awake at night worrying about it, wondering if the US tacitly declared war on the innocent next geenration of the whole world in 2003 with some kind of mutagenic suicide wish. Phew. Thank god for wikipedia.

Whats even more unsettling, is that Washington State's only operating nuclear power plant the Columbia Generating Station (new window), is only about 3-4 miles north of these quake swarms.

I'm confident about our nation's nuclear program when we put these plants almost on top of earthquake faults.

History shows again and again how Nature points out the folly of men.

Maybe it's being caused by the underground radioactive plume, originated by 53 million gallons of waste, that is creeping it's way to the Columbia River. If we keep up our current rate of delays, now in the decades, Portland should be glowing pretty soon.



"Plumes of chromium in the ground water near the D, H and K reactors in north Hanford are required to be contained to prevent them from reaching the river by 2012. The ground water must be cleaned up there by 2020. Chromium, which was used as a corrosion inhibitor in reactors, is particularly toxic to fish.

The radioactive strontium plume near Hanford's N Reactor must be contained so it does not reach the river by 2016, and the uranium plume in the 300 Area would be required to be contained by 2018."

text source (new window)

This is Reno all over again.

bobbarker02: When God is on your side, you're shielded from the consequences of your own actions.

GW? is that you? I didn't know you were a Farker. How's retirement treating you?

hyperspacemonkey: maskedloser: I'd be concerned about drawing groundwater from anywhere near that place.

It's in our food now. Oh well.

Brockway: I don't understand why we don't refine the waste into nuclear weapons grade material, and then drop it in the form of bombs on places like Afghanistan, North Korea, Sudan, Somalia, and Sweden.

Because it takes only about 2 weeks for dust from the Middle East to land in the prairies, on normal winds. I don't have the book anymore where I read that though soI can't give a citation (it was something on agriculture and erosion).

...Anyhow, the wind is also why only a total loathsome puke of a military would use depleted uranium rounds. They shatter into dust after they pass through a couple objects, and then blow right back to where the shooter's children live...no matter where that is on earth. Depleted uranium is a military's way of poisoning its own children at home.

Over 1000 tons of the stuff was used in various cities in Iraq in the first few months of combat in 2003, apparently. But wikipedia says it is alright so I won't have to be awake at night worrying about it, wondering if the US tacitly declared war on the innocent next geenration of the whole world in 2003 with some kind of mutagenic suicide wish. Phew. Thank god for wikipedia.

Lighten up, Francis.

Brockway: I don't understand why we don't refine the waste into nuclear weapons grade material, and then drop it in the form of bombs on places like Afghanistan, North Korea, Sudan, Somalia, and Sweden.

I was gonna call you a troll, but you have a point about Sweden.

Brockway: I don't understand why we don't refine the waste into nuclear weapons grade material, and then drop it in the form of bombs on places like Afghanistan, North Korea, Sudan, Somalia, and Sweden.

Uh, we refined material into weapons already .. that's why there's waste. The good stuff's been used already. Still plenty of glowy stuff, but it won't go boom. Just fizzle a bit and make your kids grow gills and flippers.

hyperspacemonkey: Brockway: I don't understand why we don't refine the waste into nuclear weapons grade material, and then drop it in the form of bombs on places like Afghanistan, North Korea, Sudan, Somalia, and Sweden.

If you could do that, it wouldn't be waste. But there are three reasons really.

1) Most of the radioactive elements in nuclear waste are just radioactive, you can't build bombs out of them.

2) The stuff you can build bombs out of is hopelessly contaminated with isotopes that will poison the reaction. Which is most likely why north Korea's bomb was a dud

3) Swedish girls are hawt.

hyperspacemonkey:Because it takes only about 2 weeks for dust from the Middle East to land in the prairies, on normal winds. I don't have the book anymore where I read that though soI can't give a citation (it was something on agriculture and erosion).

...Anyhow, the wind is also why only a total loathsome puke of a military would use depleted uranium rounds. They shatter into dust after they pass through a couple objects, and then blow right back to where the shooter's children live...no matter where that is on earth. Depleted uranium is a military's way of poisoning its own children at home.

Look I'm a hippie, you're a hippie. I took a one semester class in nuclear engineering, you haven't so trust me on this. The problem with depleted uranium rounds is they kill people not that they are barely radio active. First yes maybe someone gets cancer because dumped a few hundred tons of depleted uranium on Iraq, which is pissing in the wind compared to the number of Iraqi's killed outright. Second, the reason that uranium ore is rare is because geological processes don't tend to concentrate uranium as ore bodies. Thus it's literally everywhere. There are grams of uranium in the dirt in your backyard, which is probably leaching deadly radon gas into your basement as you sleep.

Brockway: I don't understand why we don't refine the waste into nuclear weapons grade material, and then drop it in the form of bombs on places like Afghanistan, North Korea, Sudan, Somalia, and Sweden.

One of these is not like the others, isn't it?

gibbon1: The problem with depleted uranium rounds is they kill people not that they are barely radio active.

Well, the kinetic energy released is usually enough to incinerate the DU round, the armor, and the contents of the armor .. so instead of DU bullets laying on the ground, you end up with incinerated DU dust floating in the air. Lead bullets may fragment, but not turn into lead dust for everyone to breathe. Obviously DU dust is a problem, you're really not supposed to breathe heavy metals.

Archie Goodwin: Brockway: I don't understand why we don't refine the waste into nuclear weapons grade material, and then drop it in the form of bombs on places like Afghanistan, North Korea, Sudan, Somalia, and Sweden.

One of these is not like the others, isn't it?

yeah, North Korea is two words.

Damn you, Sweden. You sexy moose!

fredbox: gibbon1: The problem with depleted uranium rounds is they kill people not that they are barely radio active.

Well, the kinetic energy released is usually enough to incinerate the DU round, the armor, and the contents of the armor .. so instead of DU bullets laying on the ground, you end up with incinerated DU dust floating in the air. Lead bullets may fragment, but not turn into lead dust for everyone to breathe. Obviously DU dust is a problem, you're really not supposed to breathe heavy metals.
But I already live sleep and eat them...
/heavy metal poisoning - the poisoning that rocks

Brockway: What the FARK are you all talking about? We nuked Japan twice, and nobody grew FARKing gills. Also, when is the last time we had trouble from the Japanese, hmmm?

Have you SEEN Japanese porn? Clearly not. Let me tell you about a little place called /b/...

fredbox: Brockway: What the FARK are you all talking about? We nuked Japan twice, and nobody grew FARKing gills. Also, when is the last time we had trouble from the Japanese, hmmm?

Have you SEEN Japanese porn? Clearly not. Let me tell you about a little place called /b/...

Oh dear god. Not /b/...

The Oregon Fishing Guide used to describe fish caught near Hanford as being "6-10 inches from head to head".

doglover: Oh dear god. Not /b/...

Hey, *you're* the one named doglover...

antonitoporter
Sounds like you missed the good ol' days when the stacks at the T Plant would spit out pieces of debris and they'd find a little radioactive pebble on someone's lawn. What did you do at Hanford?

Brockway: I don't understand why we don't refine the waste into nuclear weapons grade material, and then drop it in the form of bombs on places like Afghanistan, North Korea, Sudan, Somalia, and Sweden.

Sweeden? Sweeden???? The Sweed's have hot babes!!

Nuke the Netherlands. Everyone hates the Dutch!!!

hyperspacemonkey: ...Anyhow, the wind is also why only a total loathsome puke of a military would use depleted uranium rounds. They shatter into dust after they pass through a couple objects, and then blow right back to where the shooter's children live...no matter where that is on earth. Depleted uranium is a military's way of poisoning its own children at home.

Over 1000 tons of the stuff was used in various cities in Iraq in the first few months of combat in 2003, apparently. But wikipedia says it is alright so I won't have to be awake at night worrying about it, wondering if the US tacitly declared war on the innocent next geenration of the whole world in 2003 with some kind of mutagenic suicide wish. Phew. Thank god for wikipedia.

Burning coal is around 1,000,000 times more of a problem than using DU rounds, as all sorts of heavy metals are dumped into the atmosphere for that. Uranium has about the same toxicity as lead, so historically adding lead to gas/petrol did many millions of times as much damage to the people that lived for the most of the last century than DU ever will because there is comparatively so little of it.

dbrunker: antonitoporter
Sounds like you missed the good ol' days when the stacks at the T Plant would spit out pieces of debris and they'd find a little radioactive pebble on someone's lawn. What did you do at Hanford?

Wow, when was all of that going on? I was there during the 90's. Working on the development of a field-grade analytical bioanalyzer, of all things. Good times. How about you?

This seems oddly familiar...

Strong Motion (new window)

All the quakes are under magnitude 3? Farking THREE!?!?!

Maybe it's caused by the guy at the monitor rolling over in his sleep.

Where is your Xenu now?

Oops, read that as 'scientologists'...

piperTom: All the quakes are under magnitude 3? Farking THREE!?!?!

Maybe it's caused by the guy at the monitor rolling over in his sleep.

Oddly... I checked the USGS website, and, correct me if I'm blind, it doesn't look like a lot is really happening: Link (pops)

Brockway: I don't understand why we don't refine the waste into nuclear weapons grade material, and then drop it in the form of bombs on places like Afghanistan, North Korea, Sudan, Somalia, and Sweden.

Because it wouldn't be very nice. What would your poor, dear mother think if she heard you say something like that? You should be ashamed of yourself.

The company I worked for as a sales and office manager installed plastic liners as part of the multiply redundant containment systems.

So I imagine people are wondering some things:

Was it installed correctly? Sure looks like it. We did good work-sometimes in SPITE of the inspectors. I think there were some paperwork shortcuts at times, but I know there weren't any shortcuts in the work, we weren't worried about being sued for bad work, we want this thing to work. We live in the northwest.

Will it last the 100 years specified? We have no freaking idea. The government specified liner required a 100 year lifetime. The material specified had only been in existence for 20 years at that point. The manufacturer was willing to guarantee the material for 100 years-because the reality is that their exposure is only the cost of the liner-and 100 years from now the people that made and sold it will be gone.

3 miniature ladies, last seen singing "Mothra" were put in straight jackets and taken in for psychiatric evaluation

miller007:

Cute kid.

doglover: fredbox: Brockway: What the FARK are you all talking about? We nuked Japan twice, and nobody grew FARKing gills. Also, when is the last time we had trouble from the Japanese, hmmm?

Have you SEEN Japanese porn? Clearly not. Let me tell you about a little place called /b/...

Oh dear god. Not /b/...

//

I say we take entire nuklear site to orbit, it's the only way to be sure

If only we had some site that lacked water, people and was geographically stable.

Who am I kidding, Obama would just block it... Oh wait.

ttc2301: History shows again and again how Nature points out the folly of men.

I was hoping for a BOC reference.

Dansker: Brockway: I don't understand why we don't refine the waste into nuclear weapons grade material, and then drop it in the form of bombs on places like Afghanistan, North Korea, Sudan, Somalia, and Sweden.

I was gonna call you a troll, but you have a point about Sweden.

but what about some swedish girls and what not?

we must save the attractive women

MrSteve007: Whats even more unsettling, is that Washington State's only operating nuclear power plant the Columbia Generating Station (new window), is only about 3-4 miles north of these quake swarms.

I'm confident about our nation's nuclear program when we put these plants almost on top of earthquake faults.

According to my husband, you can't put a nuclear plant where there is no known earthquake activity because the seismic history of the site has to be proven in the documentation. Kind of a Catch-22 but I guess it does prevent putting one smack on top of a previously unknown fault.

miller007

That's farking creepy, dude.

Plants are designed to withstand seismic activity, and have been from day one. It may never operate again if hit with worst-case-scenario earthquake, but it won't breach containment, damage emergency cooling systems, or impair the shutdown/control systems. You maintain those three, and you're safe.

Even plants built in inactive areas are built to this standard.

Jujubunnie: piperTom: All the quakes are under magnitude 3? Farking THREE!?!?!

Maybe it's caused by the guy at the monitor rolling over in his sleep.

Oddly... I checked the USGS website, and, correct me if I'm blind, it doesn't look like a lot is really happening: Link (pops)

Well... to be fair, there is a little cluster of low magnitude symbols stacked on top of each other northwest of Kennewick. But I don't know exactly where the Hanford waste is stored, or how big/how many earthquakes are indicated in that cluster.

MrSteve007: Maybe it's being caused by the underground radioactive plume, originated by 53 million gallons of waste, that is creeping it's way to the Columbia River. If we keep up our current rate of delays, now in the decades, Portland should be glowing pretty soon.



"Plumes of chromium in the ground water near the D, H and K reactors in north Hanford are required to be contained to prevent them from reaching the river by 2012. The ground water must be cleaned up there by 2020. Chromium, which was used as a corrosion inhibitor in reactors, is particularly toxic to fish.

The radioactive strontium plume near Hanford's N Reactor must be contained so it does not reach the river by 2016, and the uranium plume in the 300 Area would be required to be contained by 2018."

text source (new window)

Ummm no, contamination of an aquifer will not cause earthquakes. If anything the wells that are drawing it down may (and depressurizing it if it is a confined aquifer may allow for some weak earthquakes to occur as the pressure conditions are changed in the area.

The only way that a contamination plume could help trigger earthquakes is if they were actively injecting massive amounts of waste into the ground, which I am pretty certain they wouldn't be stupid enough or allowed to do.

Oh yeah as a bonus that picture from MrSteve007 indicates an unconfined aquifer making the contamination activating faults argument all but impossible.