Nuclear semiotics
Encyclopedia
Nuclear semiotics was created in 1981 when a team of engineers, anthropologists, nuclear physicists, behavior scientists and others was convened on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy and Bechtel
Corp. The goal of this workgroup (the "Human Interference Task Force") was to find the means to reduce the likelihood of future humans unintentionally intruding on radioactive waste
isolation systems.
In more detail, the task force was to research ways to prevent access to the deep geological repository
of Yucca Mountain.
Unfortunately, there is no method at disposition which could continuously provide the necessary knowledge over thousands of years. The culture of earlier centuries becomes incomprehensible when it is not translated into new languages every few generations. National institutions do not exist longer than a couple of hundred years. Even religions are not older than a few millennia and hand down not scientific knowledge but stories.
Furthermore, the length of storage is disputed between specialists. In Germany
the conclusion of a work group was that the nuclear waste must be separated from the biosphere up to one million years which equals to about 30,000 human generations. Earlier assumptions selected 10,000 years which seems to be too short in respect of the half-life of certain radioactive isotopes (e.g. Plutonium
-239 at 24,000 years).
However, the written historical tradition of humanity is only in existence for about 5000 years. Potential warnings in cuneiform script
could be interpreted by some specialists, such in the writing of the Indus Valley civilization
are already illegible at this point in time.
In order to find a solution on how to convey the message, the "Zeitschrift für Semiotik" (Tübingen
, Germany) in 1982 and 1983 created a poll about the communication possibilities for a duration of 10000 years. The question of this poll was:
Question: How can it made possible to inform our succession within the next 10000 years about the storage locations and dangers of radioactive waste?
was member of the Bechtel workgroup. He seized earlier suggestions made by Alvin Weinberg and Arsen Darnay and proposed the creation of an atomic priesthood, a panel of experts where departures would be replaced in the way of a council through renominations. Similar to the Catholic church - which has preserved and authorized its message over 2000 years - the atomic priesthood had to preserve the knowledge about locations and dangers of radioactive waste by creating rituals and myths. The priesthood would indicate no-go-areas and the consequences of nonobservance.
This approach contains a number of critical issues:
in a mathematical sense which would reproduce itself automatically. Practical, Information Plants which only grow near a terminal storage site shall inform about the dangers. The DNA of the so called atomic flowers shall contain the necessary data about the location and its content.
Here the question remains, who will recognize the meaning of the atomic flowers in 10000 years and if it is worth to decoding their DNA.
) proposes the installation of warning signs in the most important global languages in a concentric setup around the terminal storage location. After a certain timespan new signs with adapted translations should be installed, but the old signs shall not be removed. Newer signs are posted farther away from the location thus the warning is understandable at all time and a return into older languages is possible.
, Switzerland
proposes that terminal storage locations are constructed in such a way that future generations could reach them only with a high technical complexity. The probability of an unwanted breach becomes extremely small. Furthermore, cultures able to perform such excavations and drillings most certainly are able to detect radioactive material and are aware of its dangers.
Bechtel
Bechtel Corporation is the largest engineering company in the United States, ranking as the 5th-largest privately owned company in the U.S...
Corp. The goal of this workgroup (the "Human Interference Task Force") was to find the means to reduce the likelihood of future humans unintentionally intruding on radioactive waste
Radioactive waste
Radioactive wastes are wastes that contain radioactive material. Radioactive wastes are usually by-products of nuclear power generation and other applications of nuclear fission or nuclear technology, such as research and medicine...
isolation systems.
In more detail, the task force was to research ways to prevent access to the deep geological repository
Deep geological repository
A deep geological repository is a nuclear waste repository excavated deep within a stable geologic environment...
of Yucca Mountain.
Problem Statement
Due to the detonation of atomic or fusion bombs in a supposable war as well as the usage of nuclear power plants in times of peace an unnaturally high amount of radioactive material is produced. This material will continue being a threat to health and even life for thousands of years. Consequently, the nuclear technology forces the responsible ones to assure a secure terminal storage of such materials for an unusually long time period.Unfortunately, there is no method at disposition which could continuously provide the necessary knowledge over thousands of years. The culture of earlier centuries becomes incomprehensible when it is not translated into new languages every few generations. National institutions do not exist longer than a couple of hundred years. Even religions are not older than a few millennia and hand down not scientific knowledge but stories.
Furthermore, the length of storage is disputed between specialists. In Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
the conclusion of a work group was that the nuclear waste must be separated from the biosphere up to one million years which equals to about 30,000 human generations. Earlier assumptions selected 10,000 years which seems to be too short in respect of the half-life of certain radioactive isotopes (e.g. Plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
-239 at 24,000 years).
However, the written historical tradition of humanity is only in existence for about 5000 years. Potential warnings in cuneiform script
Cuneiform script
Cuneiform script )) is one of the earliest known forms of written expression. Emerging in Sumer around the 30th century BC, with predecessors reaching into the late 4th millennium , cuneiform writing began as a system of pictographs...
could be interpreted by some specialists, such in the writing of the Indus Valley civilization
Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that was located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, consisting of what is now mainly modern-day Pakistan and northwest India...
are already illegible at this point in time.
Solution Proposals
Three parts of a communication should be conveyed to posterity:- that it is a message at all
- that in a certain location dangerous material is stored
- information about the type of the dangerous substances
In order to find a solution on how to convey the message, the "Zeitschrift für Semiotik" (Tübingen
Tübingen
Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...
, Germany) in 1982 and 1983 created a poll about the communication possibilities for a duration of 10000 years. The question of this poll was:
Question: How can it made possible to inform our succession within the next 10000 years about the storage locations and dangers of radioactive waste?
Thomas Sebeok
The linguist Thomas SebeokThomas Sebeok
Thomas Albert Sebeok was a polymathic American semiotician and linguist.- Life and work :...
was member of the Bechtel workgroup. He seized earlier suggestions made by Alvin Weinberg and Arsen Darnay and proposed the creation of an atomic priesthood, a panel of experts where departures would be replaced in the way of a council through renominations. Similar to the Catholic church - which has preserved and authorized its message over 2000 years - the atomic priesthood had to preserve the knowledge about locations and dangers of radioactive waste by creating rituals and myths. The priesthood would indicate no-go-areas and the consequences of nonobservance.
This approach contains a number of critical issues:
- An atomic priesthood would gain political influence based on the contingencies that it would oversee.
- This system of information favors the creation of hierarchies.
- Those who split the message into independent parts could use it to discriminate certain kinds of addressees.
- Information about waste sites would grant power to a privileged class. People from outside this group may attempt to seize this information by force.
Stanisław Lem
Polish science-fiction author Stanisław Lem proposes the creation of artificial satellites which will transmit information from the orbit to Earth for millennia. Furthermore, he proposes a biological coding of the DNADNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
in a mathematical sense which would reproduce itself automatically. Practical, Information Plants which only grow near a terminal storage site shall inform about the dangers. The DNA of the so called atomic flowers shall contain the necessary data about the location and its content.
Here the question remains, who will recognize the meaning of the atomic flowers in 10000 years and if it is worth to decoding their DNA.
Francois Bastide and Paolo Fabbri
French authors Francois Bastide and Paolo Fabbri propose the breeding of so called radiation cats. Cats have a significantly long history of cohabitation with humans. This approach assumes that their domestication will continue indefinitely. These radiation cats should change significantly in color when they get in contact with radioactive emissions and serve as living warning indicators. In order to transport the message, the cats should be braced in the collective awareness through fairy tales and myths. This can be reached through poetry, music and painting.Vilmos Voigt
Vilmos Voigt from Loránd-Eötvös university (BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
) proposes the installation of warning signs in the most important global languages in a concentric setup around the terminal storage location. After a certain timespan new signs with adapted translations should be installed, but the old signs shall not be removed. Newer signs are posted farther away from the location thus the warning is understandable at all time and a return into older languages is possible.
Emil Kowalski
Physicist Emil Kowalski from BadenBaden, Switzerland
Baden is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Aargau, on the west bank of the river Limmat, located in the Limmat Valley , northwest of Zürich. It is the seat of the district of Baden...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
proposes that terminal storage locations are constructed in such a way that future generations could reach them only with a high technical complexity. The probability of an unwanted breach becomes extremely small. Furthermore, cultures able to perform such excavations and drillings most certainly are able to detect radioactive material and are aware of its dangers.
Literature
- Roland Posner (Hg.): Warnungen an die ferne Zukunft – Atommüll als Kommunikationsproblem. Raben-Verlag, München, ISBN 3922696651
- Und in alle Ewigkeit. Kommunikation über 10.000 Jahre. Zeitschrift für Semiotik, Band 6, Heft 3, 1984
- J. Kreusch und H. Hirsch: Sicherheitsprobleme der Endlagerung radioaktiver Abfälle in Salz. Gruppe Ökologie, Hannover 1984
- Und in alle Ewigkeit: Kommunikation über 10 000 Jahre: Wie sagen wir unsern Kindeskindern wo der Atommüll liegt? – Zeitschrift für Semiotik 6 (3), 1984.
- Umberto Eco: The search for the perfect language, Wiley-Blackwell, 1995, pages 176-177. ISBN 0631174656. http://books.google.ca/books?id=2sDMxqbibS0C&pg=PA176
- Thomas A. Sebeok; Communication Measures to Bridge Ten Millennia (Columbus, Ohio: Battelle Memorial Institute, Office of Nuclear Waste Isolation, 1984)
External links
- http://www.castor.de/technik/endlager/spiegelfeuer.htmlSpiegelfeuer (Der SpiegelDer SpiegelDer Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
)] - TU Cottbus - Wissen für die Zukunft (PDF, 527 kB)
- Pandora's Box: How and Why to Communicate 10,000 Years into the Future (Th. A. Sebeok)
- The Trouble with Pictures, first chapter from John Mans "Alpha Beta" (pdf, 105 kB)
- Human Interference Task Force Reducing the Likelihood of Future Human Activities That Could Affect Geologic High-level Waste Repositories. Technical Report, Office of Nuclear Waste Isolation, 1984.
- except from "Deep Time" by Gregory BenfordGregory BenfordGregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine...