US-based scientists are now looking for other places to entomb their nuclear waste, including rock formations common in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. That’s the message from a 114-page study from the Sandia National Laboratory that surfaced on the week of December 19th.
While there’s no official effort under way to pick a specific nuclear waste repository, the study said areas where earthquakes are rare and that have stable rock in the granite family may be the best candidates. That could be any area of the East Coast, from Georgia to Maine, where granite is common. But the study also notes the Lake Superior region of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is “the most stable region of granite outcrops in the U.S.”
While there’s no official effort under way to pick a specific nuclear waste repository, the study said areas where earthquakes are rare and that have stable rock in the granite family may be the best candidates. That could be any area of the East Coast, from Georgia to Maine, where granite is common. But the study also notes the Lake Superior region of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is “the most stable region of granite outcrops in the U.S.”