In France we’re storing highly radioactive items underground. Here is how dissipation works:
- After a few dozen years, the concrete is expected to breach,
- Radioactive atoms mix up with soil and dissipate both upwards and downwards, mostly thanks to water,
- After 400 years and for thousands of years, they reach the surface, where they should be diluted enough to not be dangerous,
So I guess having badly contained radioactive containers would be much worse.
One thing to remember is that pressure underground is extremely high (stone weighs a lot more than water, and light rock tends to “float” onto denser rock). If a melted reactor were squeezed, it would spread materials into the soil much quicker.
- After a few dozen years, the concrete is expected to breach,
- Radioactive atoms mix up with soil and dissipate both upwards and downwards, mostly thanks to water,
- After 400 years and for thousands of years, they reach the surface, where they should be diluted enough to not be dangerous,
So I guess having badly contained radioactive containers would be much worse.
One thing to remember is that pressure underground is extremely high (stone weighs a lot more than water, and light rock tends to “float” onto denser rock). If a melted reactor were squeezed, it would spread materials into the soil much quicker.