The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
Permanent retrievable storage is a method for handling highly toxic hazardous wastes on a long-term basis. At one time, it was widely believed that the best way of dealing with such wastes was to seal them in containers and either bury them underground or dump them into the oceans. However, these containers tended to leak, releasing these highly dangerous materials into the environment.
The current method is to store such wastes in a quasipermanent manner in salt domes, rock caverns, or secure buildings. This is done in the expectation that scientists will eventually find effective and efficient methods for converting these wastes into less hazardous states, in which they can then be disposed of by conventional means. One chemical for which permanent retrievable storage has been used so far is the group of compounds known as polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)s.
Permanent retrievable storage has its disadvantages. Hazardous wastes so stored must be continuously guarded and monitored in order to detect breaks in containers or leakage into the surrounding environment. In comparison with other disposal methods now available for highly toxic materials, however, permanent retrievable storage is still the preferred alternative means of disposal.
Hazardous Waste Site Remediation; Hazardous Waste Siting; Nimby; Toxic Use Reduction Legislation
Makhijani, A. High-Level Dollars, Low-Level Sense: A Critique of Present Policy for the Management of Long-Lived Radioactive Wastes and Discussion of an Alternative Approach. New York: Apex Press, 1992.
Schumacher, A. A Guide to Hazardous Materials Management. New York: Quorum Books, 1988.
Flynn, J., et al. "Time to Rethink Nuclear Waste Storage." Issues in Science and Technology 8 (Summer 1992): 42–46.
Kliewer, G. "The 10,000-Year Warning." The Futurist 26 (September-October 1992): 17–19.