Dickie,
re:
"After Chernobyl, levels of cesium-137 went up in both reindeer and caribou herds (Figure 12). But the high levels of polonium-210 were a bit of a surprise."

The inclusion of a reference to "Figure 12" implies a link or other source. Can you provide details?

As for your question,
"how does one keep millions of tons of radioactive sand out of the environment for 80,000 years?"

Ask the engineers who plan the mines and their systems. I would not give much credence to their answers

Xod,Viv,Dick,

1. Australia is mining and will mine yellowcake. Your fruitless anti-mining arguments (90% of your posts) are wasted. At least go-with-the-flow and research solutions to the problems you argue.

2. As Australia is up to its neck in nuclear exports, why not go the extra PBR step? There are no Proliferation, safety or security concerns because the bloody pebbles are wrapped in carbon/cement and plastic, can't leak, are a waste of time to enrich, can't cause meltdown and can be sunk into subduction zones to be recycled to the Earth's interior. And no, Krypton can't bubble out of a plastic-disposal-coating.

3.Russia,UK,US led in nuclear reactors. They made mistakes. Current techs still make minor ones. New technologies won't. PBR is the safest and must be implemented and continually researched here. Your argument's like we shouldn't have planes because the Wright Bros and their contemps had so many crashes. How picayune-pathetic!

4. Living cells are Thermodynamic Machines(TMs). Thus Humans as collections of cells are >complex TMs. Civil populations like Australia are also >>complex TMs.
That means, despite anyone's best efforts, a massive Civil-loss of oil/energy production will create a STANDARD CHAOTIC Thermodynamic-Civil-response.

Now I have shown the Applied Math (Ricci flow theory) that governs such chaos and how the solution set is homologous to well-known tropical-hurricane-dynamics.

I have shown the TEPA endpoint analysis that predicts the
3D-magnitude/direction of such chaotic-hurricane-events and a nasty Endpoint between Asia&Australia. The timing of such events, locked to $petrol, will begin to go-chaotic between $5&$10/litre.

I have also indicated that human-history and most recently Rwandan-history gives us an insight into the mechanics of human chaos-induced-self-destruction. Make no mistake, history like many current events IS obscene. Sorry to the squeamish. Welcome to the human race! I don't agree that Australians should be media-molly-coddled. The ugliness of modern or past events is REAL. I am not proud of the self-obsessed,incestuousness of Australia today. If we go nuclear->geothermal and survive PEAKOIL it will make us more caring, tolerant, and grown-up as a nation.

Mene-mene-Tekel.

Australia must go Total-Nuclear-Industries-->Geothermal or PERISH along with 7 billion other people by 2025.

Its-all-THERMODYNAMICS!

Re:
"1. Australia is mining and will mine yellowcake. Your fruitless anti-mining arguments (90% of your posts) are wasted. At least go-with-the-flow and research solutions to the problems you argue."

There we have it, folks, the grand and cavalier gesture toward our current environment.

This person, who seems proud of profiting directly from investment in the nuclear fuel cycle, thinks it's up to the rest of us to clean up their mess.

A shame that someone with such an active imagination can't focus on cleaning up after themself.

But have a look at this:

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2007/2007-11-07-02.asp

"Canada's Environment Minister Sued Over Unreported Mine Waste
TORONTO, Ontario, Canada, November 7, 2007 (ENS) - Two conservation groups launched legal action today against Canada's Minister of Environment seeking to force the reporting of what they claim are "hundreds of millions of kilos of toxic mining waste being kept secret from the Canadian public." "

"The public interest law firm Ecojustice filed the lawsuit in federal court on behalf of MiningWatch Canada and Great Lakes United, an international citizens coalition that works to preserve and restore the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River ecosystem on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border. "

"The complaint alleges that Minister John Baird broke the law when he directed mining companies to ignore their legal responsibility to report millions of kilos of pollution from their operations under the National Pollutant Release Inventory."

(snip)

Some might be taught to wash their own nappies, after all.

Sir Vivor

Canadian mining companies have the ignominious reputation for hit and run mining methods in other nations.

It appears their only aim is to pillage, pollute and p#*@s off!

http://www.foei.org/en/publications/pdfs/Barrick_final_sml.pdf

One of these companies, revered in Australia for its contribution to our economic "prosperity," and also the world's largest gold mining company, has uranium tenements in this country.

Do you believe the "Fawlty Towers" regulators in this nation would be capable of enforcing any EPA or DOIR acts for environmental breaches caused by those operating a myriad of new uranium mines?

By the way, one of those companies which owns U tenements and awaiting the green light to proceed, only last year dumped a mere 8 tonnes of mercury over the community in which they conduct their operations, without even a smack on the hand!

Olympic Dam's contract to extract millions of litres of water daily, free of charge, from the GAB, is in place for the next 70 years.

One can only become concerned (not excited like Kaep) at the prospect of dozens of new Uranium mines also getting in for their chop in the not too distant future where they will unashamedly conduct their radioactive operations in close proximity to unsuspecting communities.

I have made it clear to all but a cretin. I DO NOT WANT NUCLEAR POWER. I Want a KAEP (Kyoto Alternative Energy Protocol) that includes a 50% component of GEOTHERMAL power and space based power because they are the lowest entropy almost infinite energy sources at our near term technological disposal.

If certain people on this forum could add 1+1=2 they would KNOW I advocate nuclear power because there is no chance of oil companies relinquishing necessary geothermal drilling technology while they are in the box seat and making squillions.

Now 1+2=3, I thus also have to advocate uranium mines. And 2+2=4 I want suggestions for improvements in mining standards and safety rather than just mindlessly slagging them without any hope of stopping them.

These half-wit nuclear slaggers haven't got the brains to know that I and they are a anti-nuclear minority group and have no say in the matter. The difference is that I know my limitations, the science of the opportunities that await and thus am able to present alternate scenarios to the majority for consideration. At least I have a chance of making a difference and saving a LOT of lives in the coming 2 decades.

A minority group saying 'no nuclear because don't like it and I say so' in a world where majority opinion is railroading back to nuclear power is silly and rather quaint, like Mr Mgoo. But it is full of vanity and accomplishes nothing.

Oh Waldo!

re:
"These half-wit nuclear slaggers haven't got the brains to know that I and they are a anti-nuclear minority group and have no say in the matter."

Well then, I guess if the gentle reader has a principled antinuclear stance, along with a careful eye to his/her stocks in the uranium mining companies, that's two bob each way.

It puzzles me how someone who pretends to understand about the mathematics of chaos can also pretend to be powerless. I guess it's all about pretending, eh?