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Summary Of Chemical Waste In America By Richard Muller

565 Words3 Pages

In Richard Muller’s essay on Chemical Waste in America, he points out many different problems in todays disposal techniques of nuclear waste. He brings in readers by appealing to American citizens with his visual texts, guilt, and how we must start feeling some empathy for our future generations and find a solution to prevent a massive chemical waste epidemic. Mullers argument bases off his visual texts, by showing us a reality that is going on today. Among the visual texts, Muller explains the exact quantity of chemical wastes in the United States by telling his audience that, “we have already generated more than enough nuclear waste to fill up Yucca Mountain,” which is a storage bunker for chemical waste products. Muller even includes a picture of Yucca Mountain so the audience can get a feel for the absurd amount of waste we have built up. Muller explains that the storage unit can only hold up for so long, enduring multiple earthquakes because of its geographic location. Also, holding nuclear waste in an underground layer can only support itself so long before the chemical waste bins leak out within the 100,000 years estimate scientist have given Muller. He also makes a huge visual impact …show more content…

“Do we have the right to leave such a legacy to our children,” he asks. In fact, a simple earthquake could be fatal enough to cause a leak in the storage bunker and cause radioactive waste to leak into the nearby Los Angeles water supply in a few thousand years. To Mullers audience that believe his argument is for another millennium, Muller says, “Where there is smoke there is fire,” paradox of public safety. Muller probably uses this paradox because it does not take a 100,000 years to cause an oil spill. An earthquake could cause a leak in the next minutes, and reach our water supply within the earths soil in just

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