be evaluated. However, it is not an answer for ultimate waste disposal. 
Proposed Methods of Waste Processing for Ultimate Disposal 
Many proposals have been studied for concentrating and fixing fission 
product wastes so that they can be safely released to either the ground or 
to the ocean. A list of methods considered follows, with comments concerning 
limitations imposed by safety and costs. 
1. Concentration and disposal as a liquid 
a. To deep wells or to salt domes-hazard not evaluated but probably 
serious. Cost of shipment of wastes to few suitable disposal 
sites would be high. Hazard of shipping highly active liquids 
great. 
b. To the sea, using sea water as diluent-hazard not evaluated but 
obviously great, since the ecology and dilution of entire oceans 
must be known. Cost and hazard of transport high. 
2. Evaporation to dryness and disposal of solids in can, cast in concrete, 
or fused into a glass or similar material - evaporation to dryness 
would present a serious hazard in dusting, cost would be high. Heat 
evolution in a solid would present problem of ‘cooling. Activity could 
be leached from solids by ground water or ocean. Cost of trans- 
portation to ultimate disposal sites would be high. 
3. Absorption, adsorption or exchange of fission products on naturally 
occurring clays,preliminary to firing to a solid or to canning - all clays 
or naturally occurring exchange materials have limited capacity for 
ionic species involved, none will remove all ions desired. Organic 
exchangers are subject to radiation damage; also do not permanently 
fix activity. Inactive salts load or completely block most exchange 
materials. Exchange or absorption processing facilities would have to 
be as large as main processing plants. Costs would be high. 
DECLASSIFIED 
