Author: Kiersten Sundell
Although permanent waste repository sites like Onkalo are 450 meters underground, a surprising number of people are worried that future civilizations will stumble across the site, accidentally dig deep underground, uncover the waste, irradiate themselves unknowingly, and spread it around the earth.
Now this scenario assumes that first of all, there will be an apocalypse where people lose all historical records and the ability to understand English. Or even obvious signs like a skull.
It also assumes that despite the loss of fundamental communication, they will still have the technology to cut through bedrock that’s a quarter-mile thick. Highly unlikely circumstances.
But even if all of the above is true, it would have to happen within the next 600 years for harm to occur, since this is how long high-level waste remains highly radioactive. After this period, future people would have to take bites of it in order to experience negative health effects — which I believe is true of most rocks.
Still, let’s look into some of the interesting ideas that have been proposed for alerting generations of the future.
First up is glowing cats. The idea is that scientists genetically engineer cats to glow when radiation is near them, and I guess, populate the entire earth with these cats so that they roam freely. There are a lot of logistical and ethical problems with this solution, including the fact that most cats don’t currently glow.
Another popular idea was to build gigantic scary statues around areas that contain nuclear waste or any degree of radiation. While most art seeks to engage the viewer, these warning works have the opposite intent — to scare the viewer into fleeing. Unfortunately, ancient Egyptians erected similar ominous structures, and humans decided to rummage through them for centuries. So maybe not the best approach.
Finally, an “atomic priesthood?” Sounds a little culty. This idea tasks appointed members of each generation to pass down knowledge about nuclear waste, and they are strategically replaced with someone else once they grow old. It reminds me of The Giver… and I’m not sure how they’d miraculously survive the apocalypse.
Many experts say that it would be better if there were no warnings at all and future generations didn’t know about deep geologic repositories, since they’re so inaccessible in the first place.
Maybe it’s just me, but don’t you think we should worry more about the climate crisis at hand than if people thousands of years from now are going to eat nuclear waste if we don’t invent glow-in-the-dark cats?
To watch the full rundown of these crazy ideas, visit our TikTok page.
