The disposal of nuclear waste is becoming a major concern. Many nuclear power plants around the world are nearing the end of their operating lives. This is particularly true in the United States where most nuclear power plants are approaching the end of the operational time period allowed in their licenses. The disposal of radioactive waste from nuclear power plants and nuclear missiles is as politically intense an issue as the plants and missiles themselves. Yet the three issues have remained curiously separate in spite of their close physical ties. Few debates on nuclear power or nuclear weapons discuss the problems of waste disposal should the power plant or missile be decommissioned. Few debates on nuclear waste disposal discuss the opportunities to close nuclear power plants or get rid of nuclear weapons a disposal site would afford. Nuclear waste can be generally classified a either "low level" radioactive waste or "high level" radioactive waste. Low level nuclear waste usually includes material used to handle the highly radioactive parts of nuclear reactors (i.e. cooling water pipes and radiation suits) and waste from medical procedures involving radioactive treatments or x-rays. Low level waste is comparatively easy to dispose of. The level of radioactivity and the half life of the radioactive isotopes in low level waste is relatively small. Storing the waste for a period of 10 to 50 years will allow most of the radioactive isotopes in low level waste to decay, at which point the waste can be disposed of as normal refuse. High level radioactive waste is generally material from the core of the nuclear reactor or nuclear weapon. This waste includes uranium, plutonium, and other highly radioactive elements made during fission. Most of the radioactive isotopes in high level waste emit large amounts of radiation and have extremely long half-lives (some longer than 100,000 years) creating long time periods before the waste will settle to safe levels of radioactivity. This new book explores the issues pertaining, either directly or indirectly, to nuclear waste disposal.

This is a unique book for two reasons: it focuses on neuropsychiatric casualties of war, a topic that has traditionally been avoided in the media and documentary literature; and, it is based on the personal observations of a single person, the author, who served as a military neuropsychiatrist at the United States Public Health Service Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas from 1944 to 1946, where he personally diagnosed and treated over 1500 neuropsychiatric patients. The development of a mental disorder triggered by the stress of military service, is often regarded publicly as a shameful event, not only for the patient but also for his or her family. On the other hand, getting killed or injured during military action is usually considered praiseworthy and honourable. The book describes some of the diverse stressors experienced by neuropsychiatric patients ranging from the quality of life in a submarine undergoing depth bombing, the exposure to suicidal fighters attacking their battleship, to the experiences of going on repeated bombing missions while coping with diverse enemy defences. For some new enlistees, only the initial regimentation in a boot camp was sufficient to produce a mental breakdown. The emotional pains and sufferings of these mentally disturbed patients raise the question why do human beings have wars in the first place? Each of the deadly opponents believes that their God favours their violent intentions on their enemy. All of these mentally disordered patients were taught as infants and children to nurture and protect one another and during this war, as in all wars, their job description was to defeat and destroy others. The author suggests that a mental disorder, in such a conflicted and chaotic world, should not be surprising. The resultant covering up and association with shame reveal that the proclivity of humans beings to violent disagreements and fatal battles are genetic predispositions which are as strong as their inborn and learned altruistic virtues of caring and loving.