Researchers in the US have discovered a natural mechanism whereby byproducts of radioactive decay are stored underground – rather than escaping into the wider environment. Evan Groopman of the US Naval Research Laboratory and colleagues studied an unusual sample of uranium ore that was mined from a rare underground geologic formation in the Oklo region of Gabon. The formation once functioned as a natural nuclear reactor, which sustained the same fission reactions as human-built nuclear power plants
By analyzing the sample’s chemistry, they found that fission-produced caesium and barium had been captured in rock grains containing ruthenium – which is also a fission product. This natural process could be adapted into new storage technologies for waste from nuclear reactors.
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