Ice Broom

     (SFX: beer pouring)

     ICE BEERS ARE A NEW PHENOMENON, BUT THEY'RE BASED ON AN OLD PHYSICAL
PRINICIPLE OF ICE. WHEN WATER FREEZES IT FREEZES PURE, WITHOUT INCORPORATING
ANY OTHER LIQUIDS OR CHEMICALS AROUND IT. YOU CAN SEE THIS IN A FROZEN
BOTTLE OF BEER: THERE'S A PURE WATER ICE CUBE DOWN THE MIDDLE WITH MORE
CONCENTRATED ALCOHOL SITTING AROUND IT. BEER MANUFACTURERS REMOVE THAT
ICE CUBE TO GET A DRINK WITH THE ICE BEER'S CHARACTERISTIC CONCENTRATED
TASTE. 
     BUT THIS UNIQUE PROPERTY OF ICE CAN DO MORE THAN JUST MAKE A GOOD
DRINK. PHYSICIST GREG DASH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, THINKS IT CAN BE
USED TO HELP CLEAN UP TOXIC SOIL. HE HAS RECENTLY PATENTED A METHOD CALLED
CRYOSWEEP WHICH USES ICE TO REMOVE RADIOACTIVE WASTE.  

     Dash: "The way cryosweep works is to produce . . . an advancing frozen region, and the reason . . .
it works. . . is ice dissolves practically no other chemicals. . . it pushes the impurities in front of it."

     DASH'S PLAN IS TO STICK ROWS OF REFRIGERATION PIPES INTO THE GROUND
THAT FREEZE THE WATER IN THE SOIL. ONE ROW WILL TURN ON, CREATING ICE THAT
WILL PUSH THE TOXIC WASTE OUT TO ITS BORDERS. THEN THE NEXT ROW OF PIPES
WILL KICK IN, FREEZING MORE SOIL AND PUSHING THE TOXINS FURTHER. IT MIGHT
TAKE SEVERAL PASSES TO CLEAN THE GROUND, BUT IN THE END ONE COULD SWEEP
THE WASTE INTO A CONCENTRATED AREA FOR STORAGE OR NEUTRALIZATION. IN
FACT, SAYS DASH, ONE COULD USE ICE AGAIN TO STORE IT.

     Dash: "When you've brought all the impurities into a small region, that can either be. . . dug up
and transported. .. or it can be maintained there indefinitely by freezing the ground around it."

     DASH'S CRYOSWEEP WILL BE BUILT BY RKK Ltd. A COMPANY NEAR THE
HANFORD NUCLEAR RESERVATION IN WASHINGTON STATE WHERE THE COMPANY
TESTS ITS TECHNOLOGIES ON SEEPING WASTES LEFT OVER FROM PLUTONIUM
PROCESSING.