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16. Summer solstice
Written in the front This series of knowledge about climate, geography, transportation, and industry is not a fabricated setting. Those who are interested can check the information to understand.
As the global climate warms and the melting of Arctic ice and snow accelerates, the ice-free period in the Arctic will become longer and longer.
By the end of this century, trans-Arctic shipping may become more common, and the average navigation period is expected to reach 4-8 months.
Even in the case of low emissions (the temperature increase is controlled within 2 degrees), the navigating period of general ships will exceed the current 2-4 months. The melting of Arctic ice and snow has gradually changed the conditions for the development and utilization of the Arctic, providing new opportunities for countries to commercially utilize the Arctic waterways and develop Arctic resources.
The whole process of preparation of nuclear fuel before entering the reactor and processing and regeneration after burning in the reactor is collectively referred to as the nuclear fuel cycle. The light water reactor and MOX fuel technology can regenerate 97% of the spent fuel, but 3% of the high-level radioactive waste separated in the process still exists.
Long-term storage of radioactive waste requires the stabilization of the waste. Due to the relatively mature vitrification technology of high-level radioactive waste liquid, the low leaching rate of vitrified body, and the stable irradiation, vitrification has become the most widely used high-level liquid waste solidification technology. The radioactive waste liquid is melted with the glass forming agent at high temperature to fix the radionuclide in the glass body. The liquid is poured into a special container to solidify, and then stored in a high-level waste storage facility for 30-50 years for cooling.
Because Beilian lacks waste treatment facilities, most of the vitrification of radioactive waste and the manufacture of MOX fuel are completed overseas. The Pyramiden area is favored by scientists due to its coldness and sparse population. There are multiple storage plants, and the processed high-level waste must be transported back during the short sailing period of the Arctic Ocean in summer. The nuclear waste processing and storage industry and the development of new energy sources such as combustible ice have become the main industries in the northern region, which means that the demand for freight transportation is increasing. In spite of the initial opposition, everyone understands that there are always people who have to take up these problems, and most of them are locals like Natalia.
Kulara and Natalia met at work. As one of the parties promoting the project, such an identity makes her feel guilty towards her friends, and it becomes more and more serious as the relationship deepens.
Putting cured glass in an underground repository does not mean absolute safety-the half-life of nuclear waste can be as long as tens of thousands of years. The life of storage containers, possible ice age and crustal changes during the half-life, emergence of groundwater, and the disposal of MOX fuel after use are still perplexing scientists. The nuclear industry still cannot solve the "waste disposal problem"
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