Warning Future Generations: The 10,000-Year Challenge of Nuclear Waste
2024-12-20
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico faces a daunting task: communicating the dangers of nuclear waste to future generations 10,000 years from now. The impermanence of language and symbols proved challenging. Experts explored various solutions, from genetically engineered "ray cats" that glow near radiation to a forbidding "landscape of thorns." Ultimately, the most enduring warning might be woven into cultural narratives and belief systems, creating a lasting legend like that of the "ray cats" to warn future people of the danger.