Ask AP: Polluted water, neutralizing nuclear waste

Instead of figuring out where to put nuclear waste, why can't we just find a way to neutralize it so it's no longer hazardous?

Curiosity about what to do with nuclear waste inspired one of the questions in this edition of "Ask AP," a weekly Q&A column where AP journalists respond to readers' questions about the news.

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How can animals not only drink and live in but even thrive in water that is so contaminated that it would make humans very sick, or kill them, if consumed? I don't mean fish but mammals, reptiles and amphibians that can survive on water in polluted lakes, canals, rivers and ponds that are unsafe for human consumption.

Jeff Vanderslice

Plantation, Fla.

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Actually, animals often don't thrive in polluted waters, said Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program.

Seals near Central Asia's Aral Sea and whales near the St. Lawrence Seaway along the U.S.-Canada border have had problems because of pollution, and mink near Lake Michigan don't reproduce because of dioxin and PCBs, or polychlorinated vinyls, Birnbaum said. Amphibians are disappearing all over the world, for a combination of various and sometimes still unknown reasons.

The real issue, though, is that science looks at animals and people differently. In animals, we look for immediate events, like mass fish die-offs. In people, we look at the long-term chronic effects, like cancer. Rarely do we study cancer or other chronic effects in wild mammals, Birnbaum said.

It's also worth noting that different species have different tolerances to toxicity.

Seth Borenstein

AP Science Writer

Washington

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How come, with all our technology and great scientific brains, we can't figure out how to neutralize nuclear waste? What is the problem (in terms a layman can understand)?

Margaret Tabar

Pontiac, Mich.

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The federal government and the nuclear industry figure it will take decades to create the kind of technology that would reduce the volume and radio-toxicity of high-level nuclear waste so that it can be recycled to obtain more energy and improve waste disposal, according to Steve Kraft, senior director of used fuel management at the Nuclear Energy Institute.

The reason no plan has been developed to take care of waste? "It's extremely complicated," said Ed Lyman, senior staff scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists.

"Nuclear waste is a mixture of many different radioactive isotopes, all with specific properties. No one-size-fits-all solution exists to convert those into less hazardous materials," he said.

Lyman said the problem with reprocessing spent nuclear fuel is that it can be hazardous, expensive and time-consuming - taking thousands of years to fully recycle the waste. And there's another big potential problem, Lyman said: Plutonium that can be generated by the process can be used to make a nuclear bomb.

Kraft said that, for now, waste can be safely stored at nuclear power plant sites or central facilities. And no matter what technology is developed in the future, there always will be material that will have to be disposed of in a repository.

Mark Williams

AP Energy Writer

Columbus, Ohio

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The NFL seems to issue thousands of dollars in fines to its players every week for various infractions. What happens to that money?

Pedro Rivas

Chicago

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Player fines collected by the league are used in part to support the Players Assistance Trust, an organization that provides assistance to retired players who are in financial distress. They also go to charitable initiatives supporting youth and education programs and sports-related medical research.

Barry Wilner

AP Football Writer

New York

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Have questions of your own? Send them to newsquestions@ap.org.