Can the damage of air pollution be reversed?

Answer 1

Yes, but a lot depends on what the pollution is. There are a lot of different things that are regarded as pollution from nuclear power plants, and they are all very different in how they can be handled.

The nuclear industry is the basis for much of the mining of uranium that has gone on. This produces problems typical of mining operations, and these can be reversed in much the same ways they would be with other mining operations.

One of the most important pollutants is waste heat. This is dissipated in the atmosphere and water systems, but there is a lot of heat involved, and it has major affects on ecological systems. In some cases populations of fish have been drastically reduced. There are some endangered species, such as the American crocodile, that have benefited, but this is very much the exception, rather than the rule.

Nuclear power plants release small amounts of various radioactive materials on a regular basis. Perhaps most noteworthy is tritium, in tritiated water. Such releases are often undetectable at any distance from the nuclear power plant, and nearly always involve amounts of radioactive material far less than come from coal burning plants, as a matter of comparison. Such releases cannot be reversed, but also do not change the amount of radioactive materials found in nature in any appreciable way.

Sometimes, larger amounts of radioactive materials are released, and these may or may not be reversible, depending on the circumstances. For example, on the one hand and amount of radioactive iodine-131 released during the Three Mile Island Accident were far above amounts that are considered permissible. The answer of whether it was a matter of grave concern or not depended on who was answering; but in any event, it was not something that could be recovered. By contrast, releases of excessive amounts of tritium into ground water, which have part less potential to be harmful, can be controlled to a large extent. This is done, literally, by emptying the well and letting fresh water flow in from other sources.

Large amounts of nuclear pollution, such has happened at Chernobyl, can be mediated through a variety of means. The reactor itself was buried in concrete, which is not really a great way of containing the waste, but is much better than nothing. Similarly, soil near the site can be excavated and isolated.

The cesium-137 that was released into the environment, however, was a serious problem, even at a distance from the plant. Levels of cesium-137 were a problems as more than a thousand miles away, partly because biological systems tend to concentrate certain substances. In Ukrainian wild mushrooms, the concentration the cesium-137 was as much as 10,000 times what was in the soil they grew in. But this points to a potential solution to cleanup, which is bioremediation. Mushrooms, or organisms that concentrate the elements we need to remove, can be planted in the soil, harvested, dried, concentrated, and disposed of.

High level waste has the potential to be more of a problem. Good solutions to dealing with it have not been developed. There is some promise, however, that it can be rendered largely inert using new technologies that are currently under development. Such was can, it is hoped, be used as fuel in accelerator driven systems, which will produce power and render the substances in the waste nearly all stable. One of the interesting side benefits of such systems is that they also have promise of using other substances for power, with less potential for environmental damage, more efficiently, and less expensively, than nuclear power as it is currently used.

Answer 2

Air pollution can be reversed. Although it would take billions of dollars from thee government. We would have to- some way harness the pollution and purify it. I do NOT know how we could do this but, I know we could if we took the time and the money. Hope this helps.

<3 Megan Joy Jones

Answer 3

yes because its very simple put a giant air cleaner machine