Letter: Waste of space

Sir: It may not surprise people to know that S D C Ostler's suggestion (Letters, 4 February), that nuclear waste be disposed of in space, has been looked at.

Back in 1979 both Nasa and the US Department of Energy studied the launching of nuclear waste into indefinite orbits around the sun or placement on the moon. They found that even if the most active wastes were to be disposed of in this way, 30 launches would be required a year. Such flights, they found, could raise electricity costs to consumers by as much as 50 per cent.

LANG BANKS

West Kilbride,

Ayrshire