Conclusion
The basic problem of radiogeoecology is providing the capability for storing radioactive wastes in geological formations. Geological data on underground storage of radioactive elements indicate that this problem is solvable in principle. Therefore, development scientifically based solutions requires a whole program of research, and combining the strengths of specialists in various fields of knowledge: geologists, physicists, chemists, mathematicians, radiobiologists, etc.
Developing a program of radiogeoecological research, however, depends on an overall concept of safety in working with radioactive wastes. Such a concept should consolidate legislative safety standards and incorporate regulations on the whole effort of storing radioactive wastes as a condition of safely developing nuclear energy [26]. An example is a U.S. law, adopted by Congress in 1982 [17], on policy in the field of nuclear wastes, which defines a strategy for working with wastes, and sets out responsibility, organization, and financial efforts. The absence of an analogous law in our country cannot be considered normal. In some cases it leads to ignoring hazard factors and unwarranted risks; in others to overcaution and disbelief in the validity of adopted solutions. Therefore development of a law on working with radioactive wastes and their actual storage is now one of the important problems of radiogeoecology.
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Institute of Geology of Ore Deposits, Petrography, Mineralogy, and Geochemistry, Academy of Sciences, USSR (IGEM). Translated from Atomnaya Énergiya, Vol. 71, No. 6, pp. 523–534, December, 1991.
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Laverov, N.P., Kantsel', A.V., Lisitsin, A.K. et al. Basic problems of radiogeoecology in storing radioactive wastes. At Energy 71, 988–996 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01123151
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01123151