ISPECTRUM MAGAZINE

Issue 14/July - August 2015

GARAMANTESThe LosT Kings of The sahara

YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM

ThE TRap Of vITRIfIEd RadIOacTIvE hLW gLaSS

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Features

03GaraMaNtes:The LosT Kings of The sahara05 Castles and irrigation channels08 not so barbarian11 four-hourse carts13 incredible technology16 Pyramids -Tombs

17YOur IMMuNe sYsteManD The sTorY of anTiBioTiCs18 The use of antibiotics23 a strong immune system24 emotional immune system

27the trap OF vItrIFIed radIOactIve hLW GLasshow wiThin Less Than 600 Years The gLass viTri-fieD raDioaCTive hLw wiLL BeCome a gLoBaL environmenTaL issue

37WhY Our BOdY Is cOMpOsed OF eLectrOMaGNetIc eNerGY41 Dna42 heart magnetic field

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CONTENTS

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Mado MartinezEditorial Director

Editorial DirectorMado Martinez, madomartinez@ispectrummagazine.com

Art DirectorRayna Petrovaraynapetrova@ispectrummagazine.com Contributing EditorsMatt Lovedaymattloveday@ispectrummagazine.comBradley TerblancheLaura Hayes

Contributing WritersPaco GonzálezDimitre AssenovDr. Fahad Basheer

ImagesCover: ©Luca Galuzzcommons.wikimeadia.org morguefile.com freeimages.com

editorial

Ispectrum magazine

Dear Readers,

We are pleased to announce the release of Issue 14, made, as always, with all our love. We open this new edition with a mysterious civilisation: Garamantes, the lost kings of the Sahara. One millennia ago, Garamantes not only survived the harsh conditions of their environment, but thrived thanks to trade and techno-logical supremacy. Paco Gonzalez will guide us through enigmatic cave paint-ings and strange pyramidal tombs. Will you follow with us?

We continue with medicine thanks to two special contributions from Dr. Fahad Basheer. We will explore our immune system and the story of antibiotics, as well as the electromagnetic energy that composes our body.

Also in this issue, Dimitre Assenov has come to talk about the trap of vitrified radioactive HLW glass: how within less than 600 years the glass-vitrified radio-active HLW will become a global environ-mental issue.

Enjoy the read and feel free to comment, share and write for us.

Mado Martinez

www.ispectrummagazine.com

Follow us

admin@ispectrummagazine.com

+44 7517 864 167 (UK)

Published Bimonthly ISSN 2053-1869

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illennia ago, to the south of modern Libya, a mys-terious civilization flour-ished. Its people, known

as Garamantes, not only sur-vived the harsh conditions of their environment, but thrived thanks to trade and technologi-cal supremacy. Enigmatic cave

paintings and strange pyramidal tombs show their symbolic and religious development. However, pillaging and the desert sands have hidden the greatest part of their history, which some link to the People of the Sea. It is not unusual that people refer to it as the African Atlantis.

M

By

PACO GONZÁLEZ

GARAMANTES:The Lost Kings of the Sahara

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Garamantes...From late 2011, the name of this

ancient people settled in Libya shook off the desert

dust and resounded in com-mentaries about lost civilizations. The reason was to be found in a discovery, thanks to new aerial and satellite photographs of over a hun-dred fortified villages hidden under the unforgiving sands of Eastern Sahara.

Actually, the authors of the dis-covery did know where to look. Not in vain, several sites associated to this civilization have been dug since the 30’s of the past century and, more recently, after 1997. However, the armed conflict that ended with the defenestration of Colonel Gadaffi and his regime, had kept in suspension - for obvious reasons - any archeological activ-ity in the region. During his life, the dictator never really paid much attention - or help - to the research of the historical past of his country.

They drove quadrigas, worshipped Ra and built pyramids...before the

Egyptians?

Besides its “black oil” deposits, the des-ert of this vast North African country holds first class archeologi-cal riches; treasures of such a value and mys-terious nature as befit-ting of its owners. Very little is known about the Garamantes, and

what we intuit consti-tutes a true challenge for those enthusiastic for historical enigmas. “The Garamantes con-stituted a very com-plex civilization, which developed in fortified settlements to a great extent. They were a per-fectly organised state,

with cities and well delimited villages. In addition, they had writ-ten language and tech-nology far advanced for their times. In fact, they were pioneers in the establishments of oasis’ and the demar-cation of a trans-Saha-ran route”…

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CASTLES AND IRRIGATION CHANNELS

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The author of this brief introduction is David Mattingly, Roman arche-ology professor at the University of Leicester and director of the proj-ect which has obtained the images in question. Extremely knowledge-able of the Garamantes’ Civilization, this famed archeologist is set to promote knowledge

about this culture, which flourished between 600 B.C. and 800 A.D. However, during the press conference in which he presented his findings, he had to insist on its extraor-dinary importance: “It is as if someone came to England and dis-covered medieval cas-tles”, he explained to a

British journalist, who was probably unaware of the context of the news. We do not berate him for that. With the exception of Egypt, archeology in the north of Africa is as arid as the subsoil being stud-ied.

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Before being forced to abandon Libya in February of 2011, Mattingly and his team had already made out-standing discoveries, such as the ruins of a fortress with walls reach-ing four meters high, numerous houses, cemeteries, wells, channels and irrigation systems. But we ask: how can we reproach ourselves for not knowing about these lost king-doms when even the majority of Libyans had not been told about its existence? Therefore, to start, the best approach would be to locate the Garamantes in their space and time in history. Something which, as we will see next, is not an easy task.

Near East in 600 AD, showing the location of Garamantes before the

Arab conquest.

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Let’s forget the artificial borders which have fragmented the cultur-al unity which we will call Greater Maghreb, integrated by nations such as Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and, at least in part, Mali and Niger, without forget-ting Western Sahara - or Sahrawi Arab Democrat i c R e p u b l i c -, whose o w n geopo-l i t i c a l d e f i n i -tion is today as sorrowful as it is polemic. Now, let’s observe this part of the African North East way before its Islamization. We will go to approximately 6000 years ago, in a land populated by who were colloquially called the “Berber” eth-nic group (we will later see why this definition is inappropriate).

However, accepting at this point the Greater Maghreb “Berber”, we will note that their borders incor-porate a greater expanse, for we must include the Canary Islands to the West and Egypt in the opposite direction. The map we will provide

you with is even less arbitrary. There

is anthro-p o l o g i -

cal and arche-ologi-c a l e v i -

d e n c e w h i c h

s u p p o r t it. The most

important, undoubt-edly, has to do with the language

and writing. With this point, it is con-venient to define “Berber”. Actually, this term was coined in times of the Roman Empire, referring to the supposed “barbaric” nature of those North African tribes. Therefore, we

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NOT SO BARBARIAN

“The Egyptian god Amón-Ra, of Saharian-African Origin,

would be the deity Achamón (Sun) of the Guanches of

Tenerife”

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are going to keep the name these very ethnic groups used to refer to themselves: “Amazigh” or, - the plural form - “Imazighen”. This is, “free men” or “noble men”.

Far from being super-fluous, the language as a unifying factor would explain highly disconcerting enigmas which have lasted to the present day as, for example, the discov-ery of the same writing

in places as far from each other as Tenerife in the Canary Islands (Spain), and the oasis of Siwa in Egypt.

We will continue ignor-ing the artificial bor-

The so-called Hattia Pyramids where important people and rulers of the Garama Kingdom were interred in the Sahara Desert, Libya.Ph

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der we know from the present, and we can start to imagine the nomad people or, the “Amazigh”, who would go back and forth in the Mahgreb and Sahara. Some important clas-sic historians – main-ly Greek and Roman - mention several of those tribes, rare-ly omitting the name of what was probably the most prosperous and enigmatic of the North of Africa: The Garamantes.

“There existed, in the Libyan Sahara, a long tradition of mummification which

ended being exported to Egypt, according to some experts”

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Why were they called Garamantes? This Greek denomination comes, supposedly, from Garama, current-ly Germa (or Jarmah), a location to the southwest of Libya, in the province of Fezzan, just a few kilo-meters away from the border with Algeria, where the first sites asso-ciated with the civilization were dug – research which coincided with the Italian occupation dur-ing the 1930’s. Soon, the transal-pine archeologists would notice the unusual importance of their discov-eries. Coinciding with a particularly adverse period in the weather of the area, the Garamantes decided to establish sedentary settlements where they developed complex farming and mercantile structures; profess peculiar cults and traditions - such as mummification (see box) - and set their architectonic and painting likes free, which we know due to the abundant petroglyphs which pepper the mountain and caves off this area. The content of these paintings - very similar to the neighboring one in Tasili n’Ajjer in Argelia, incidentally - seems to partially corroborate some of the

Rock paintings in Tadrart Acacus region of Libya dated from 12,000 BC to 100 AD. There are paintings and carv-ings of animals such as giraffes and elephants reflecting the dramatic climatic changes in

the area.

FOUR-HORSE CARTS

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descriptions which classic authors like Pliny, Strabo and Herodotus, among others, made about the Garamantes. This last historian writes the following in the fourth tome of The Nine books of History:

“From Auguila, after a trip of ten journeys, there is another hill with salt in its water and with many fruit bearing palm trees like in the other ones, and with men who live in that hill who are called the Garamantes, very populous nation, who, to sow the land, cover the salt with a layer of dirt”.

Tadrart Acacus a desert area in western Libya, part of the

Sahara

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He then adds: “Said Garamantes go hunt-ing the cave-dwelling Ethiopians, mounted in a four horse cart, which is necessary because these Ethiopian men are the lightest on their feet we have heard about”.

Although they seemed

Roman histori-ans underlined the Garamantes’ com-bat ferocity as well. A verifiable fact from the figure of General Lucious Cornelious Balbo Moinore, who finally defeated them in 19 B.C. Such was

extremely literary, the annotations by Herodotus already underline two singular facts in connection with the Garamantes. The first is when their skill in farming activities is highlighted. Regarding the second, the Greek historian describes what anyone who visits the region and observes

the cave paintings can verify by himself: The Garamantes were mas-ters in the driving of quadrigas, long before the vehicle was adopt-ed by the armies of their Egyptian neigh-bors.

the merit of that victo-ry and the loot he took to Rome that Balbo, even when he was born in Cadiz, received the Ovatio from the hands of the Roman senate, an honor which only politicians and military men born in the Italian

peninsula had received. Even when it lost the capital of its kingdom, Garama, it is said that irreducible factions of the Garamantes con-tinued harassing the Roman legions, through incursions which lasted until the years 110-

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INCREDIBLE TECHNOLOGY

120 of modern times. Regarding their skill as farmers, it is noticeable that the Garamantes, against all odds, thrived in such a harsh climate, quite similar to the one the Sahara is suffering nowadays. They did it fundamentally due to the establishment of the oasis, improved by an irrigation sys-tem through subterra-

nean channels, some-thing unheard of for its time. Known as fog-garas (in Tamazigh), these channels col-lected subterranean waters and directed them to the orchards, preventing the burning sun from diminishing their volume. We know of the success of that procedure because of the present existence

of a network of more than 1,000 kilometers of foggaras, which in ancient times allowed the Garamantes to grow grain and Date Palm trees, among other plants. But the foggares are not, no less, the only evi-dence which gives faith to how advanced the Garamantes’ Civilization was.

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In fact, the province of Fezzan gar-ners a myriad of other proofs that do nothing but go deeper into the mysteries surrounding this soci-ety. We refer in particular, to the very ancient cave paintings and thousands of tombs -pyramids included - which pepper this region. In an area of approximately 500 square kilometers, on the outskirts of the great valley of Wadi al-Hay-at, archeologists have discovered numerous paintings in caves and rocky places; graffiti which helps us to understand a little better the

hid-d e n

details of these people. The dating of the drawings is not simple, but it is believed that they are between 20,000 and 12,000 years old. As we had mentioned

“The drawings are between 20,000 and

12,000 years old”

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before, the representations of carts or quadrigas pulled by four horses and other animals are abundant.

It is hard to assume that the Garamantes knew these uses in such remote times, this being another of the impenetrable enig-mas of what some have come to call The African Atlantis.

Additionally, many discovered artifacts are related in some way to the Garamantes - or their ances-tors, belonging to the Acheulian and Aterian periods - which takes us to a strip between, at least, 100,000 and 30,000 B.C. Some of these objects - tools, spear heads, etc - can be seen in the Museum of Germa. Their funerary art deserves a special mention. In the previously mentioned region, around 120,000 tombs have been detected, a good handful of them with the shape of

a truncated pyramid, which were undoubtedly built with an inten-tion of transcending time. It is the so-called pyramids - royal tombs of Ahramat al-Hattia - buildings which have miraculously survived the plundering and destruction and much extended practices in this area, which have erased possible evidence about aspects related to the mythology and religion of these mysterious Libyan-desert dwellers forever.

It is believed that the decline of the Garamantes was due to the Arab invasions in 700 A.D. and the transference of the trans-Sahari-an commerce routes to the West. Additionally, it is very possible that there was a deterioration of the cli-matic conditions and the subterra-nean waters, which until then had supported their lifestyle.

PYRAMIDS - TOMBS

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YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM AND THE STORY OF ANTIBIOTICS

our Immune system is a mirac-ulous biological system that is highly efficient in combating any foreign microorganisms that

invade your body. It has very exciting and brilliant complex mechanisms and weapons to combat bacteria, viruses and fungi. Besides that, your immune system is incredibly powerful in fight-ing the cancerous tissues that arises from our body. Yes, the immune sys-

tem has a well-defined wisdom within it to specifically differentiate our own cells from the foreign and diseased tissues by recognizing them based on receptors on the cell surface. The Immune system is comprised various types of cells assigned to do different functions working together to bring a great revolution inside the human body to make it powerful and healthier {1}.

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DR. FAHAD BASHEER

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In 1928, the discovery of peni-cillin by Alexander Fleming gave hope for combating some of the toughest bacteria. This along with antibiotics took the health sec-tor by storm. Antibiotics started waging war against infectious dis-eases with success. The public was impressed but for how long? The victory was short-lived. The bacte-ria developed genetic mechanisms to combat against antibiotics, and as a result, new antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria stepped into the arena. It has led to the emergence of bacteria with uncontrolled anti-biotic resistance powers to fight back the drug. As a result of anti-biotic resistance, 90,000 hospital patients develop infections in the USA. And because of this, in excess of 20 billion dollars a year is spent in the health sector as a part of its consequence. Mankind started spending billions of hard-earned money just to keep them at bay but without much success {2}.

In developing nations, you will find both a mixture of infectious diseases and autoimmune diseas-es, and prevalence of infectious diseases in the poor nations is due to a lack of nutrition and hygiene. Constant use of antibiotics in hos-pitals and clinics throughout the world has now caused a shift from communicable disease to non-com-municable diseases like autoim-mune diseases. Do you know why? The constant use of antibiotics has now caused a serious impact on your immune cells, which are one of the fastest growing type cells in your body. In developed nations, autoimmune disorders predominate over the communicable diseases due to the emergence of antibiot-ics. As a result, the constant use of antibiotics in developed nations led to the emergence of auto-immune disorders. Therefore, the Government started to spend mil-lions on fighting autoimmune dis-orders using immunosuppressants and steroids. However, these immu-nosuppressants contributed to fur-ther weakening of the immune cells,

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thereby paving the way for a higher suscep-tibility to infec-tions, e.g. lym-phoproliferative disease caused by Epstein Barr virus is a result of immunosup-pression effect of immunosup-pressant drugs.

After a cer-tain period, the genes in the cells developed a resistance to the immunosuppres-sants and spelled doom for the patient. Steroids that initially made the patient healthy later made it easier for them to walk into their grave, due to its uncontrolled effects on the differ-ent receptors of the body, leading to its adverse effects. Every

nephrologist in the world knows the reality that most renal diseas-es are caused second-ary to diabetes (auto-immune disease), high blood pressure (93% of causes are unknown as per medical school

syllabus -- it is known as primary hyperten-sion, which otherwise is known as the silent killer) and drugs. They have to first get the list of drugs that the patients were on pre-viously, as these drugs

Escherichia coli.Some strains of E. coli bacteria (such as a strain called O157:H7) may cause severe ane-mia or kidney failure, which can lead to death.

used by the patient for other disorders will badly affect the other vital systems of the body. Even though the drugs help save a per-son’s life several times at emergency depart-ments and at casualty, it is still good enough to silently take a person’s life one at a time. And most doctors know the

reality of drug treat-ment as just keeping on maintaining an old scooter at home, and it is still foolproof that no drug exists without a side effect and given at the appropriate dose is the mode by which medical science try to adjust to in order to get the best therapeutic effect. In short, drugs often prove counter-productive, and they are not free of side effects. As they say,

autoimmune disease is the disease of a rich man of high living stan-dards and who is well educated in the society with burdens of wor-ries and stress in life, and infectious diseas-es are the poor man’s disease due to lack of food and hygiene and who is happy that he gets comfort looking at people above him. Yes, and that’s the tragedy of life {2}.

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Have you ever gone through the results of a poll conducted by Dr. Tullio Simoncini, a famous oncolo-gist from Rome, who has pioneered sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) therapy as a means to treat can-cer, among doctors? Well, if not, here is what the poll was about. Dr. Tullio Simoncini tried to find out from the doctors who participated in the survey, whether they them-selves would undergo chemother-apy if required. Do you know what the outcome was? 75% refused it outright. They were not sure of its effectiveness but were well aware of its devastating effects on the entire human organism {3}.

“According to medical associa-tions, the noto-rious and dan-gerous side effects of drugs have become the fourth main cause of death after infarc-tion, cancer and apo-plexy” {4}. In the Journal of American Medical Association, Dr.

“According to medical associations, the notorious and dangerous side effects of drugs have become the fourth main cause of death after infarction, cancer and apoplexy”

Barbara Starfield wrote an article revealing that from conservative estimates, the practice of medicine is the third leading cause of death in United States. But from the research of Gary Null it is the first leading cause of death with over three quarters of a million people dying from medical treatment each year {5}.

We often find people heavily dependent on antibiotics. Do you

know what happens when they continue to depend upon the same drug day after day, month after month, year after year? The good gut bacteria die along with the bad bacteria. With the mass destruction of good gut bacteria, fungi that has all along been waiting on the side-lines for a chance to thrive, spring to life and grow rapidly and unop-posed, thereby causing bloating, indigestion, diarrhea and increased yeast infection. The immune cells too suffer. Their source of nutrition, the good gut bacteria (lactobacil-

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lus), is no longer there to nourish them or is drastically reduced in number and hence unable to pro-vide them with adequate nutrition {6}.

But does this mean that we avoid antibiotics altogether? No. I do not deny the good effects of these drugs.

But I would surely want to caution one and all against their indiscrimi-nate use. Antibiotics can be taken but only if it is absolutely essential and under proper medical supervi-

sion, in the right dosage and for the right period only. Empowering your immune system is the great-est success in combating anything in the world. Allowing you immune system to combat organisms makes you powerful and stronger in living a healthy and happy life. And if you don’t, you will indeed be a slave of antibiotics, thus weakening your natural health. You will have to lose

your health in order to know the value of your own health {7}!

Since 1920, r e s e a r c h -ers were able to stimulate strong emo-tions by elec-trically stim-ulating the

limbic cortex over the amygdala (the emotional store house of the brain), and amazingly, Dr. Candace Pert found high concentrations of neuropeptides in these location, from where the information from

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our five senses relayed into your nervous system. Astonishingly, the recep-tors for these neuropep-tides were also found on immune cells, for every peptide that was found in the brain, the immune cell had the exact receptor for these peptides and thus the immune system can send and receive infor-mation to the brain via peptides. She proved that the type and number of neuropeptides available at receptor sites of a cell influence your probability of staying well or getting sick. Whenever a person experi-ences positivity, the neuropeptides released from the limbic system occupy the same receptors of the cell used by the virus to enter the cell and replicate. Thus, the people with very good emotional health have a strong immune system and have less chance of getting affected by infectious diseases.

It is proven that from the uncon-scious mind whenever emotion gets

activated the release of neuropep-tide ligands are triggered off from emotion-processing areas of brain, and the whole memory co-existing with that emotion is held in the receptors to which these neuropep-tides bind. Your immune system is composed of spleen, bone marrow, lymph nodes and white blood cells, and amazingly, they have these receptors for your neuropeptides of emotion and they have receptors for all the peptides that are pres-ent in the brain!! The immune sys- Ph

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tem also produc-es peptides that are the same as those found in brain that regu-late mood; the immune cells send information to brain via immune peptides and receive information back in the form of neuropeptides. Immune cells and the brain are together in a network of communication via neuropeptides of emotion. The research has found that the people who suppressed negative emotions had decreased cell-mediated immu-nity, which is essential for your body to combat intracellular micro-organisms that invade your body; decreased blood monocytes that is essential for maintaining immunity of your body; and elevated eosino-phil, predisposing more chances to have allergy and high blood sugar counts, which results in increased

stress patterns and poor natural killer (NK) cell activity that predis-pose oneself to have a higher risk of developing viral infections and high serum Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antibody titers, indicating higher risk for viral infections like infec-tious mononucleosis -- these sub-jects had decreased CD3 and CD8 lymphocytes. This clearly estab-lished that mental health plays a very vital role in determining the health of the immune system. Even our day-to-day stress like exams can have an impact on our immune system: a study was conducted at Ohio State University that the stu-dents who appeared for final exams had weaker immune response to

Lymphocytes are responsi-ble for immune r e s p o n s e s . There are two main types of lymphocytes: B cells and T

cells.

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hepatitis than unstressed students.

Thus, by creating strong emo-tional health, one can empow-er their immune system to fight any tough and virulent bacteria

or virus. Creating emotional health is vital when it comes to the matter of the immune system. In staying mentally healthy, you will be physically healthier. A very good emo-tional health can save the use of lots of antibiotics and ste-roids. A stronger emotional health in an individual can save a lot of money. Stay positive and live the same. You will enjoy life’s precious moments {7}.

REFERENCES:

{1}The immune system- Peter Parham

{2} The History of Antibiotics: A

Symposium-john parascandola

{3} Cancer is a fungus: Dr. Tullio

Simon

{4} Journal of American Medical

Association, April 15, 1988

{5} The Biology of Belief: Dr. Bruce

Lipton

{6} Gut Microbiota: The Forgotten

Organ: Malfartheiner

{7} The Science Of Emotions: Dr

Fahad Basheer

ThE TRap Of vITRIfIEd RadIOacTIvE hLW gLaSS HOW WITHIN LESS THAN 600 YEARS THE GLASS VITRIFIED RADIOACTIVE HLW WILL BECOME A GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE

By

DIMITRE ASSENOv

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v itrification of radioactive high-level radioactive waste (HLW) in boron silicate glass is the primary technology

used for encapsulating radioactive HLW. However, the model assumes certain critical assumptions for con-tainment. A major assumption is that amorphous glass can stably sustain radioactive HLW with no significant degradation over time or release of radio-active materials. A key assumption for contain-ment is based on the existence of ancient archeological glass artifacts and com-puter models for the boron sili-cate glass. H o w e v e r , the technical modelling assumptions to support computer simulation are based on some incomplete or ungrounded assumptions. The limited laborato-ry tests for glass aging (i.e. repeat-ed heating and cooling) ignores the important point that, contrary to

crystalline matrix, the amorphous one very often sustains unexplained reversing to aging results. The only ongoing experiment for assessing the aging of amorphous glass for HLW vitrification is underway in China and is currently in its 16th year of testing.

The glass vitrification process is based on forming glass

boron silicate in an amor-phous composition at a

melting temperature of around 650 degrees.

At such a tempera-ture range, the glass

matrix prevents evaporation of the

selected radio-isotopes (e.g. Cesium). The next step

is to mix the melted amorphous boron silicate glass with solidified highly radioactive HLW in propor-tions of around 63% to 67% glass and 33% to 37% solid radioac-tive HLW material (some mixing issues remain unresolved). The hot

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mix produced is poured into stainless steel con-tainers and allowed to solidify. Once this is complete, the glass encased HLW in placed into a stainless steel container that is encap-sulated with a welded cap (small empty vol-ume is left to compen-sate linear glass matrix expansion). The con-tainer is then stored on rags in Titanium steel

canisters and moved to a temporary storage warehouse. The final product may be stored in a deep geological repository (Carlsbad - New Mexico or Yuka mountain- Nevada).

The process is based on the assumption that bedding the radioactive materials in multiple metal corrosion-resis-tant containers will keep

the glass/ HLW matrix in a stable state until the decay heating level dropped below biohaz-ard levels. Assumed in the existing modeling, minor volume expan-sion during decay tran-sition ignores major mineral geo-chemical transitions.

This paper raises con-cerns over important missing elements in

Diagram showing three types of proposed waste packages for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste depository

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the modeling process. These conditions may jeopardize the assump-tion of geologically long stability of the glass for a radioactive HLW con-tainment matrix.

A key element is that amorphous glass in a solid thermodynam-ic state is considered as solid liquid / liquid solid with a very narrow threshold for revers-ibility known as super cooled liquid (liquid-semisolid-solid state and the reverse – solid-semisolid-liquid state) – refer to enclosed dia-gram.

The first unground-ed assumption is that the glass melting tem-perature is significantly higher than the radioiso-topes evaporation tem-perature. This thresh-old of glass transition will be narrowed sig-nificantly after applying

pressure that was par-tially considered in the vitrification modeling.

It is well known that the vitrified radioactive HLW generates heat and will be in the range of 500 to 550 degrees Celsius for a period of several hundred years. Since this temperature was significantly lower from the initial melting temperature of boron silicate glass at room temperature, no addi-tional concerns were

established. The miss-ing element is what will happen in the sealed stainless steel contain-er. The container vol-ume is constant and at some point the pres-sure inside the stain-less steel container will start to rise. It is obvi-ous that the increased pressure will move the glass transition gap to the right, occurs at a much lower tempera-ture and become closer to the actual tempera-ture range of 500-550

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degrees Celsius. As a result, the super cooled liquid threshold will reduce which will bring the solid glass into a semi-softening or semi- melting stage.

At this point, we must consider the geochemical processes to explain the processes that will take place. Predominantly, all solidified HLW comprises quick formed unstable oxides. At an increased tempera-ture and with no additional amount of oxygen or water, some of these oxides will form crystalline packets of metals and Silicon oxide, widely available in the amorphous glass (unstable predominantly chain configurations lattices, very well explained in the crystallography).

Once formed in the semi-softened / semi-melted glass matrixes, these crystalline packets will continue to grow until the equilibrium in the mix falls under the sustainable for grow level.

Two global changes will happen in the original amorphous glass / HLW matrix. The newly growing crys-tals will occupy the configuration of

space, requiring rearrangements in the glass-vitrified matrix. As higher density occurs, these new crystals will project much higher pressure to the amorphous glass that will frac-ture in order to release the internal stresses. It needs to be considered that some of the steel containers may crack or fracture, in order to release the additional pressure in geometry configuration. (Although not perfect, the only way to avoid this is to leave them in the sealed container sufficient empty volume, that will compensate the volume changes – pressure valves are not acceptable because this will relate to ventilation issues inside the can-ister.) Accounting for only the linear expansion of the glass matrix, this was done at significantly reduced levels.

This issue was not considered in the present storage containers. The process of expansion / pre-crystallization of the glass / HLW matrix will be complicated further by water vapor condensation that will occur inside the large canister. Filling the canister with nitrogen will decrease this effect but will not

prevent formation of water vapor. Thermodynamically, this newly formed water vapor will make the transition into liquid water droplets attached on the metal containers surface (internally and externally). The designed ventilation and water drainage systems of the deep geo-logical repository are assumed to accommodate all external water condensation in the tunnel. The concern is for all water condens-es / vapors inside the steel con-tainers and large metal canisters. This water will react with metal silicates and make the transition to complexes of Calcium, Sodium, Potassium and Barium Alumina sili-cates (Bowen Reaction series at low temperature range). These pro-cesses are well known in Geology. An additional process is also expect-ed – as solid dissolution transition of the Silicates – a process well determined in Geology. This pro-cess is solid to solid replacement of some Silicon atoms in the tetrahe-dral lattice with atoms of Alumina, Calcium, Sodium, Potassium and Barium. This process also requires additional volume due to the large

vacancies that will be filled with heavier atoms from the remaining radioisotopes.

At elevated temperatures and pressure for a significant period of several hundred years, the semi-softened/ semi-melted amorphous boron silicate glass will undergo a partial or complete transition into a complex crystalline lattice forma-tion. This transition will completely alter the inner limited space of the encapsulating metal container. The density difference between the amorphous glass (2.5 g/cc) and metal silicates (from 3.1 g/cc to 7.2 g/cc) will result in an expansion increase (neglecting the tempera-ture expansion) from 1.24 times to 2.84 times the original volumes.

This will complicate the process when specific conditions of the sin-gle radioisotope transition count.

As an example, take the transition of Cesium – one of the shortest decay half-life radioisotopes – pro-viding the steps and volume transi-tions.

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Cesium half-life decays to stable Barium with-in 30.17 years. This means that within 20 half-lives almost the entire amount of

Cesium in the HLW will make the transition to stable Barium. We must consider one specific mineral that occurs in nature as a by-product

of the Cesium decay – Barium Silicate to Barium Feldspar. In the HLW, Cesium appeared in the form of gas and oxide.

This diagram indicates how crystalline silicate is formed in nature. The decay diagram also

shows that the transi-tion to stable Barium is heavier from its parent – this means it requires

much larger space in the crystalline lattice.

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34

The first step from combined temperature / pressure of the amor-phous glass matrix will be formation of Cesium silicate.

The required Oxygen atom will come ini-tially from the Cesium oxide in the HLW or Silicon dioxide pack-ets in the glass. During this crystalline lattice formation, the newly formed Cesium Silicate will require additional space inside the amor-phous glass matrix. This results in a rearrange-ment of atoms’ posi-tions in the much larger lattice compared to the amorphous one (single-

crystal X-ray diffraction (space group P 6¯ 2m, a = 9.578(5) Å, c = 4.155(5) Å, Z = 0.5, 269 F(hkl), R = 0.0424) Ref to Original Russian Text © A.E. Lapshin, N.V. Borisova, V.M. Ushakov, Yu.F. Shepelev, 2006, published in Zhurnal Neorganicheskoi Khimii, 2006, Vol. 51, No. 11, pp. 1804–1808).

It is very important to recognize the signifi-cant space differences along the Crystalline lattice vectors.

The excess Oxygen amount from the origi-nal Cesium oxide will be consumed by the formation of water vapor with the avail-able Hydrogen from HLW. Once formed, the Cesium silicate under-goes a stage of collaps-ing during the decay transition – a process already determined in Nuclear Waste science.

The next step will be the transitional forma-tion of Barium Silicate, coming from the Cesium

decay in Cesium Silicate.

Example of initial Cesium Oxide cluster

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From one side, the atoms’ Radii difference, combined with the new lattice configuration in which, two Cesium atoms are replaced with one Barium which is an indication of required additional, almost double space, the final mineral product will be required. At the final transition stage, when the temperature and the pressure falls under the original glass transition, Barium Silicate will undergo an additional solid to solid dissolution to form Barium Feldspar (with the presence of Aluminum) - known as Cyclosilicates (forming polyhedrons crystalline lattice).

The final question is how to deter-mine how much additional space the original Cesium in the HLW will require during its decay transition to Barium. The average amount of Cesium in the HLW fission products

inventory (after spend fuel recy-cling) is in the range of 23.11% for US sludge after 6 years’ decay to 31.66% for AREVA sludge. (Reference: Nuclear Chemical Engineering.)

The Cesium volume to total vol-ume of HLW (after recycling) is 15.226% – for US sludge after 6 years’ decay.

After completion of the 20 half lives decay time (603.4 years), the formed Barium silicate will require at least twice the volume of 30.452% from the total HLW volume, or 11.267% (63% glass 37% HLW) additional volume from the total volume of the originally glass vitri-fication matrix.

When combined with other decay chains, an estimate for the entire HLW radioisotope inventory is that during geological time transition, most of the encapsulated steel containers will sustain significant volumetric changes such as cracks or ruptures, that will compromise the sustainability of the entire glass vitrification process. The conse-quences will be extremely disas-

36

trous because the entire geological repository will become very highly contaminated and difficult to be maintained and control. This will include additional complex issues of maintaining surrounding the engi-neering barrier for extended geo-logic time, with unknown bio haz-ard consequences. The situation becomes more complicate from established in the Mining science indisputable fact, that at any time new artificial cell is formed in the rock matrix, the thermodynamic changes forms around water vapors condenses in form of established in geology perched fresh water lenses. These lenses are the next issue to come with toxic compounds trans-port (including long-lived radioac-tive isotopes and formed from the decay of other toxic chemical and reactive compounds).

This paper raises awareness of these issues, bringing for question-ing the sustainability of HLW glass vitrification. The explained physical and geo-chemical processes are well known and established in dif-ferent science disciplines such as Geology, Mineralogy, Geochemistry, Crystallography, Mining, Geologic

stratigraphy, Aquatic chemistry, etc. Kicking the can down the road based on ungrounded assumptions for a good outcome after 1,000 or 10,000 years, by using a technically easy and cheap method for seques-tering radioactive HLW, questions our credibility and responsibility to the future generations.

ACKNOwLEDGMENT:

I would like to thank Dr. Garry Sandquist and Dr. Manoradjan Misra for reviewing the article.

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WhY OUR BOdY IS cOMpOSEd Of ELEcTROMagNETIc ENERgY

By

FAHAD BASHEER

TAll energy is electromagnetic in nature, and nothing happens in the body without an electromag-netic exchange between cells

he normal living cell is com-posed of a cell membrane, nucleus, DNA and mitochon-dria. Each organelle of the

cell serves a particular role in the human body. The functioning of each cell is crucial when it comes to sustaining the life of each cell.

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For example: the mitochondria of a cell is essential for the generation of ATP which is the molecular ener-gy that is essential for the various metabolic reactions in a single cell to occur. The DNA, mRNA and the tRNA is essential for the transcrip-tion and the translation of vari-ous proteins and peptides that are essential for its daily growth and metabolism. The cell membrane consists of numerous receptors that allow the flux of Na+, K+, Cl-, H+ ions. The blood, plasma extra

cellular fluids and the intra cellular fluids of our body are composed of ions like H+, Na+, K+,Cl-, Ca2+.

At molecular level, each and every metabolic reaction occurs due to the interaction between two or more peptides or proteins. The protein, in fact, is nothing but a molecular structure made up of atoms like carbon, nitrogen, oxy-gen and hydrogen. The reason for any reaction to occur between

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each molecule is due to the unpaired electron or electron deficiency in the reacting pro-teins. When the reac-tion occurs it is inevi-table that electrons jumps from one pro-tein to another causing the creation of an elec-tric current. In physics it is inevitable that the electric current cannot co-exist without mag-netic field. There are more than a trillion cells in our body and there are more than a 100 discovered meta-bolic reactions taking place at a time. These metabolic reactions are a continuous process until a man’s death. In the meantime, a huge net amount of electromagnetic fields are being generated within each cell. These electromagnetic fields only account for the contents in the cyto-plasm of each cell and

the extracellular fluids (1,4).

The mitochondria, which is known as the store house of energy, is the only source for the human cell which can derive energy for its survival. Without

this it is more diffi-cult for the human cell to survive. If there is no mitochondrion we won’t ever get ener-gy for our growth and development. The energy protein known as the ATP is formed in the mitochondria as a result of continu-ous influx and efflux

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of H+ ions or protons across the mitochon-drial membrane that help a series of oxida-tion reduction chemi-cal reactions to occur. These protons are nothing but a charge. In the principle of elec-tromagnetism it is solid law that the movement of any charge creates

electricity. And it is also evident that the mag-netic field cannot co-exist without electric-ity. Thus, it is foolproof that our mitochondria is constantly generat-ing a three- dimension-al electromagnetic field that is constantly pres-ent in us when we play, walk, talk, eat, sleep, read, etc. This is only about the electromag-netic field that gener-ates from the power house of cell (2,4).

Now, here is the fun-niest and the coolest reality that makes us more amazed. There is no living cell in our body without a cell membrane. In the fluid mosaic model pro-posed by singer and Nicolson that we stud-ied from our schools, we all know that there are millions of protein

channels on the cell membrane that allow the flux of water and ions like Na+, K+, Cl-, H+ and other ions. Yes, there are millions of ions crossing millions of protein channels over the cell membrane at any single time in each and every cell of the human body. By the law of electromagnet-ics, there is an influx of millions of ions creat-ing a strong electrical current which in turn generate a powerful magnetic field. Thus, a powerful electromag-netic field is created. Yes, every living cell of the human body is endured with a elec-tromagnetic field that generates within and surrounds them. In truth, the living cells in our body cannot exist without this electro-magnetic field. Thus, the electromagnetic field of the cells in the

41

human body then determines the quality of metabolism and chemi-cal reactions of a cell. Yes, it determines the life of the cell. The weaker the electromagnetic field, the more feeble and sluggish the metabolic reactions would be in the body. The stronger the electromag-netic field, the more excellent the metabolic reactions would be in the body (3,4).

DNA is an extremely long chain of molecules that contains all the information necessary for the life functions of a cell. It helps in car-rying information from generation to generation and also helps in the production of proteins that are essential for growth and devel-opment of the human body. The

DNA

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individual molecules that make up DNA are called nucleotides. There are only four nucleotides that are ever used; these are Adenine, Thymidine, Guanine and Cytosine. These nucleotides are made up of atoms like Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Oxygen. Quantum physics has discovered that our universe is made 99.999% energy and 0.0001% matter. It has now proved that even the atoms in DNA are nothing but energy. Each atom of DNA is made up of unique energy which codes a specific set of information within it. Every atom has its own energy signature. It was found that the molecules col-lectively radiate a unique energy signature. This energy signature is otherwise known as the “intelli-gence” that determines the behav-iour of DNA in terms of production of proteins by transcription and translation, which in turn deter-mines the physiology of a living cell (6).

The human heart is the most pow-erful electromagnetic processor of your body. In fact, the heart is fifty times more powerful than the brain electrically, and five thousand times more powerful magnetically. In sum, the heart is five times electromagnetically more powerful than the brain, which constantly keeps on generating electromag-netic quantum packets that carry a set of information known as “intel-ligence” to the whole body, which is immersed in the field of the heart. This field is even detectable three to four feet away from our heart. By altering the electromagnetic fields of the heart, we are able to change the whole electromagnetic field that is immersed in the human body (7).

Photo credit: (C) Stephan Brendgen

THE HUMAN HEART

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In summary, our human body is com-pletely immersed in an electromagnetic field. The quality and strength of this electro-magnetic field deter-mines the quality of cell proteins, hormones, peptides, neurons and cells of the human body. This bio electro-

magnetic property is the fundamental prin-ciple by which even the MRI we use to scan our body works on. In the MRI machine, we are introducing the patient into the MRI system to visualise the inter-nal organs. To get the image of these internal organs, we create a

strong external mag-netic field using high watt electromagnets in order for the protons (H+) in the human plasma to align in a sin-gle desired direction. Thereafter, we intro-duce a high frequen-cy external energy to excite these protons in the human plasma that

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aligns in a single direc-tion due to the exter-nal electromagnetic field that is created by the powerful electro-magnets that we use in MRI. When we stop sending the external energy, these protons start giving back the captured energy. This incoming energy is then

absorbed by a detec-tor and is converted to images using interven-ing devices in the MRI system. MRI is one of the medical scanning procedures that is not hazardous to a patient (5).

To conclude, our body is made up of flow-ing ions, charges and electrons that con-stantly generate elec-tromagnetic fields in the human body. These electromagnetic fields, beyond their capacity to generate molecular reactions, also carries embedded informa-

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(1) Berg, Jeremy, Tymoczko, John L., Stryer,

Lubert, Biochemistry, 6th Edition. New York,

New York: Sara Tenney. (2007), pp. 410–

411

(2) Cooper, G.M., The Cell: A molecular

approach,2nd edition (2000)

(3) Martin, Laura. The Fluid Mosaic Model of

the Cell Membrane - The Mosaic. Connexions

(15 Oct. 2007)

(4) Irodov I.E., The Basic Laws of

Electromagnetics (2004)

(5) Hornak, Joseph P. Ph.D The Basics of MRI

(6) Basheer, F., 2014. The Human Heart:

The Origin of Light and Life: Elephant journal.

Available at: <http://www.elephantjournal.

com/2014/09/the-human-heart-the-origin-of-

light-life-fahad-basheer/

(7) Basheer, F., 2015. The Science of Emotions.

PartridgeIndia

REFERENCES:

tion and a set of rules known as “intelligence”. In fact, electromagnet-ic fields cannot exist without charged par-

ticles and at the same time charged particles cannot exist without electromagnetic field. Yes, the “intelligence”

in the electromagnetic field thus determines the health and disease of the cells in our body.

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W W W . I S P E C T R U M M A G A Z I N E . C O M

“ As our feelings change, this mixture of peptides travels throughout your body and your brain.And they´re literally changing the chemistry of every cell in your body,”

-DR. CANDACE PERT

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W W W . I S P E C T R U M M A G A Z I N E . C O M