Sunday, July 09, 2006

Nuclear waste to pose challenge in Asia

Asian countries like China and India are looking to nuclear power to sustain skyrocketing growth.

However an interesting article looks at how South Korea is already facing challenges dealing with nuclear waste from its own reactors.

A worker checks the radioactivity of drums containing nuclear waste at Yonggwang Nuclear Power Plant in Yonggwang, South Korea, Thursday, April 20, 2006.
A worker checks for radioactivity of drums containing nuclear waste at Yonggwang Nuclear Power Plant in Yonggwang, South Korea, Thursday, April 20, 2006. AP /Lee Jin-man photo via Yahoo News.

With 20 nuclear power plants, South Korea is spending nearly US$320 million to subsidize a temporary dump site in the historic town of Gyeongju, the cradle of Koraen civilization.

Dumping of nuclear waster is a worldwide problem as countries struggle to find permanent sites to store material that won't be safe for hundreds of thousands of years.