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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 26 ● Number 3, 2001 Geology and the Human Environment: The Nuclear Waste Problem OWAIN THOMAS This paper was delivered as a workshop at the Annual Conference of the Earth Science Teachers Association at Kingston University in September 2001. It describes a Study Day set up at the National Museum and Gallery of Wales for AS Geology students. The core exercise requires students to engage with the basic spatial, geological and environmental issues which lie behind the decision to locate a nuclear power station. Introduction The National Museum and Gallery of Wales has an excellent record of supporting education throughout Wales. The Education Department is responsible for developing resources to complement the displays, including the superb “Evolution of Wales” exhibition. About eighteen months ago I suggested developing some educational resources to support the new AS/A2 level specifications. Geraint Price, the Senior Education Officer was very keen to support the initiative and he worked with both Museum and Cardiff University staff to put together a study day for AS Geology students. I contributed a set of worksheets to complement the presentation made by the experts. We aimed to bring together as many aspects of the AS course as possible in an integrated problem-solving exercise and to meet this aim we developed the idea of choosing a suitable site for a nuclear waste facility on the imaginary South Pacific island of Nova Cambria. The study day Two groups of students attended the Museum for the study day in November 2000, one group from Amman Valley School, the other from Coleg Sir Gar (Carmarthenshire College) accompanied by their teacher, Dr. Liz Richards. Geraint Price arranged for a number of experts to give short presentations to the students, with each presentation being followed by a practical exercise. Dr Bob Owens and Sarah Chambers led respectively sessions on rock specimen identification and the use of fossils for relative dating. These were followed by Prof. Mike Bassett discussing fossil evidence for plate tectonics. Geraint contributed two sessions, one on volcanic hazards the other on groundwater processes. Dr Carolyn Heeps from the Education Department analysed the erosion and depositional processes affecting coasts. Earthquake hazards and monitoring was covered by Dr Pete Brabham from the University and his colleague, Dr Charles Harris, finished the day with a session on site investigation techniques. I think that the day was very successful. The students felt that the sessions were very interesting and provided a lot of interesting background information, despite the fact that we had tried to cover a great deal of material in the single day. The practical aspects were particularly popular with the students. Geraint Price and I decided that we would try to develop the materials so that they could be used in a number of different ways. The pack can be used in schools using specimens readily available in a standard departmental collection. Alternatively, materials can be borrowed from the Museum’s outreach collection and it is anticipated that the study day will be repeated at some point in the future. The activity pack The intention is that the pupils will practise a number of skills as they work their way through this pack, including: ● rock specimen description and identification; ● fossil identification; ● cross-section drawing; ● locating earthquake epicentres; ● interpreting volcanic monitoring data; ● calculating rates of coastal erosion; ● determining permeability; ● interpreting geophysical survey data. Each of the above activities is introduced to the students assuming relatively little prior knowledge. www.esta-uk.org 94
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 26 ● Number 3, 2001 It is suggested that teachers begin by giving the students a scenario: The island of Nova Cambria is in the southern Pacific Ocean, approximately 1000 km east of New Zealand. Generating electricity is a major problem on the island because, at present, it has no accessible fossil fuel reserves. Mining was carried out in the past but the mines were abandoned long ago and mining records have since been lost. For many years the islanders have relied on imported fossil fuels, but this is now very expensive. Recently a deposit of uranium ore has been discovered and the island Government has decided to use it to generate electricity in a nuclear power station. The power station has been constructed but the problem is to find a suitable site for the storage of radioactive waste. The islanders have selected five possible sites. Your job is to use the geological data on the island to evaluate these sites and to choose the most appropriate location for the waste facility. Alternatively you can choose to abandon the project altogether. NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN N JAPAN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS PACIFIC OCEAN KILOMETRES 0 450 900 1200 PAPUA NEW GUINEA Tuvalu Solomon Islands Fiji Western Samoa AUSTRALIA Coral Sea Vauatu Tonga NEW ZEALAND SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN Tasman Sea NOVA CAMBRIA Fig 1: Nova Cambria Location Map 95 www.esta-uk.org
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