Health Policy Medicaid Expansion Of The Ppaca - 2484 Words

Health Policy: Medicaid Expansion of the PPACA: In the United States, there is an inequitable distribution of power, money, and resources that create health disparities among the different socioeconomic classes (WHO, 2014). The PPACA was created to affect the social determinants of health through the Expansion of Medicaid via the PPACA. An example of health disparities can be seen with life expectancy across the difference levels of social economical levels. In the United States, the upper class individuals live on average 20 years longer than those in the poorer classes (Marmot, 2005). The federal government has created rules to expand Medicaid that include offering Medicaid medical insurance to all non-Medicare eligible individuals whom are under the age of 65 with incomes up to 133% of the federal poverty level which is based on the modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) (KFF, 2013). Social Problem: There is expected to be roughly 17 million individuals becoming newly insured through the Medicaid Expansion of the PPACA by 2019 (Carrier, Yee, Stark, 2011). The expansion of Medicaid will create a major supply and demand issue within the health care services. Simply put, the demand for primary care services will exceed the capacity of the current primary care infrastructure. This will only add to health care spending because the newly insured individuals will not have many options to obtain primary care services and they may be forced to use inappropriate services suchShow MoreRelatedHealth Policy Issue Paper : Health Care1605 Words   |  7 PagesHealth Policy Issue Paper Health care is our nation’s greatest strength and most serious challenge. The organizing, financing, and delivery of health care in the United States is affected by a broad range of forces such as public, private, national, as well as local (Shi Singh, 2015). The main theme of the Obama campaign of 2008, was to change health care provisions that were preventing American’s from accessing adequate health care. In March 21010, the Patient Protection and Affordable CareRead MoreThe Patient Protection Affordable Care Act1412 Words   |  6 PagesHealth care cost has been constantly rising and a problem in this country for years. Millions go without much needed medical care every year due to the lack of health care. For many the emergency room is their first contact with medical care. The Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (PPACA) intends to significantly decrease the number of uninsured in American. The PPACA, is said to be most comprehensive insurance reform sinc e 1965, (the year in which Medicare and Medicaid were implemented) wasRead MoreDelivering Health Care At Americ A Systems Approach1154 Words   |  5 PagesSingh, D. A. (2015). Delivering Health Care in America: A Systems Approach (6th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones Bartlett Learning. I choose the book because it serves as a back-bone towards the portfolio project. The book provides comprehensive knowledge about the creation of Medicare and Medicaid, and how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act impacted these public health insurances. Chapter 3 gives a summary on how Medicare and Medicaid became a public health insurance – to serve the elderlyRead MoreObamacare And The Uninsured Elderly1719 Words   |  7 PagesJustification for Choosing the Health Policy Issue I’m sure you have heard many debates, discussions, and opinions about the law ObamaCare. Do you know what this law was implemented for? Do you know why some could support it or want it repealed? Do you realize how much money one could leave the taxpayers to pay for their unpaid medical bills because they could not afford insurance? â€Å"ObamaCare, officially called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) but more often called the AffordableRead MoreEffects Of Obamacare On Health Care1239 Words   |  5 PagesEffects of Obamacare Obamacare aim is to provide better affordability of health care and enhanced health care access to Americans, which hopes to put consumers back in charge of their health care. It also aims to include upgrades to government-run Medicare and Medicaid. The purpose of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is to provide affordability to Americans. However, the extensive cost to facilitate the phases of this program, and how these expenditures will ultimately beRead MoreThe Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act1208 Words   |  5 PagesObama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). This is more commonly referred among United States Citizens as Health Care Reform. This revolutionary law offers three main guarantees: First, health insurance for all Americans, not just those who can afford it; Second, cost reduction in the insurance premiums for individuals and businesses; Lastly, higher quality care. On the surface, the PPACA seems all around beneficial for all Americans, but there areRead MoreThe Patient Protection Affordable Care Act879 Words   |  4 Pagesby definition, is â€Å"a social contract of health care solidarity through private ownership, markets, choice, and individual responsibility. While some might regard this contract as the unnatural union of opposites—solidarity on the one hand and markets, choice, and individual responsibility on the other,† (Baker 1579). The primary conflict that exists with PPACA is a segmented population of American businesses will have to increase spending to provide the health insurance, a program that could and hasRead MoreObamacare Economics Research Paper1441 Words   |  6 Pagesrelationship to Economics and Policy Student’s Name Institution of Affiliation Introduction The US’s health care system opposed to the other institutions better represents the wealth disparity effects. A substantial number of its citizens cannot afford health care, and if they do, they do not get high-quality care deserved (shortfalls). The Obamacare or Patient Protection and Affordable Care (PACA) Act of 2010 attempts to reform US Health Care (Amadeo, 2017; Cutler, 2012). Though PPACA does not rise to theRead MoreThe Impact Of The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act On Public Health Services2883 Words   |  12 PagesThe Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on Public Health Services HSAD 500 Brian M. Mwesigwa Eastern Washington University – Master of Public Health Abstract Attempts for nearly a century in America have failed to establish the principle that every American is entitled to affordable and effective health insurance coverage regardless of their income or health status. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010 has made this legislation possible. A range of itsRead MoreThe Current Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act ( Ppaca )2437 Words   |  10 Pagesthe current Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), which is the latest attempt at reform and the most ambitious healthcare reform in the history of the United States. The core design of PPACA is to ultimately provide universal healthcare to the nation. The present review of literature addresses both the benefits/deficits, implementation and evaluation of the current and ever evolving healthcare initiative. Conclusions and policy recommendations will be discussed and outlined to conclude

Children of Single Parent Families and Delinquency

Deviance can occur in any society or home but is mostly connected and associated with broken homes. Children with single parents are believed to be at high risk of being delinquent. The reason delienquency is very likely to occur is because the child is either motherless or fatherless, and this may currupt the personality of the child in many ways. This is argued may lead to a destructive delinquent future. Bad neighborhoods, where single parents reside often leads to delinquency as the social society that single parents often live in are surrounded by deviant behaviour. The main reason single parents tend to reside in estates and currupted areas is they cant work because they have. Single parents tend not to punish their children†¦show more content†¦Of these arrests of children, 17 percent (about 43,000) involved persons under the age of 10. Only 10 percent of these arrests were for status offenses (e.g., running away from home, curfew violations, and liquor law violatio ns). Interestingly, between 1988 and 1997, the total number of child arrests increased by only 6 percent, as compared with a 35-percent increase for all juveniles, and child arrests for property crimes dropped by 17 percent. However, during this same period, child arrests for violent crimes increased by 45 percent. Overall, child delinquents arrested in 1997 were relatively more likely to be charged with a violent crime, a weapons offense, or a drug law violation than a property offense (Snyder, 2001) Crime and deviance are two terms that have a strong connection. The main relationship between them is that they are both socially constructed and they are not natural. A deviant is someone that is charecterized as a violator of the norm in the society theShow MoreRelatedEssay on Children of Single Parent Families and Delinquency1206 Words   |  5 Pagesand associated with broken homes. Children with single parents are believed to be at high risk of being delinquent. The reason delienquency is very likely to occur is because the child is either motherless or fatherless, and this may currupt the personality of the child in many ways. This is argued may lead to a destructive delinquent future. Bad neighborhoods, where single parents reside often leads to delinquency as the social society that single parents often live in are surrounded by deviantRead More Adolescence and Juvenile Delinquency Essay1644 Words   |  7 Pagesjuvenile delinquency is defined a number of ways. Mosbys Medical Nursing, and Allied Health Dictionary summed up juvenile delinquency best with this definition; resistant antisocial, illegal, or criminal behavior by children or adolescents to the degree that it cannot be controlled or corrected by the parents, endangers others in the community, and becomes the concern of a law enforcement agency(1994). I found that most theories about what causes delinquency in children and adolescentsRead MoreThe Role Of Family Structure And Youth Essay1678 Words   |  7 Pagesby children under the age of 18. What causes a child to embark on such destructive paths at such young ages? Children are our future; they must be raised well to become the next Einstein, Oprah, Obama and etc. Raising a child starts within the home. Not all families are nuclear families consisting of a mother and father. Some families are single parent families where there is only one parent or even extended families, meaning daughters, sons, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and so on. Families go throughRead MoreThe Main Finding Is Thus That The Variable â€Å"Adoptee† Is1432 Words   |  6 PagesThe main finding is thus that the variable â€Å"adoptee† is a risk factor for delinquency for Danish-born adoptees and stepchildren, but not for adopted immigrants. (Laubjerg, 367). They then eliminated the country of origin to see what would happen, and they found that the risk of delinq uency increased which proves that it is origin that causes the risk of delinquency. The immigration and the adoption is not what brings about the risk. Danish adoptees greater than 12 months at adoption and stepchildrenRead MoreThe Negative Effects Of Juvenile Delinquency1286 Words   |  6 PagesLiving in poverty when I was a child, made me realize now that I am older how my life could have been completely different. I had family and friends who lived in a single parent household and others who lived with both of their parents; it made a tremendous impact on how they would behave, their morals, and values. Many of the other children who used to live in the same neighborhood as I did not appreciate the same values I would. Some of us continue going to school which was a small percentage whileRead MoreFamily Structure And Juvenile Delinquency1671 Words   |  7 Pagesmostly known as juvenile delinquency. Juvenile delinquency is defined as young adults, people under eighteen, brakin g or violating the law (Websters). Family structure can affect juvenile delinquency in numerous ways. Family structure can include family support system, home environment, and family unity. The independent variable is family structure and the dependent variable is juvenile delinquency. Home environment plays a role in the production of juvenile delinquency. Kierkus and Hewitt (2009)Read MoreFamily Structure And Juvenile Delinquency1626 Words   |  7 Pagesincreasing the number of crimes committed by minors. Family structure can affect juvenile delinquency in numerous ways. The independent variable is family structure and the dependent variable is juvenile delinquency. Home environment plays a role in the production of juvenile delinquency. Kierkus and Hewitt (2009) in The Contextual Nature of the Family Structure/Delinquency relationship discussed how family structure is an important factor in delinquency but there might also be other factors that influenceRead MoreThe Number Of Juveniles Committing Crimes1745 Words   |  7 Pagescategories are family disruptions, single parent households, and lower class living. All these categories are things that come up in every study done to figure out whether a juvenile is affected by its environment. The first category of discussion is family disruption. This can be considered parents divorcing or separating and parents fighting or marital discord. Children who live in homes where the parents are divorced or separated are more likely to display behavioral problems then children who haveRead MoreThe Effects Of Juvenile Delinquency On The Criminal Justice System1691 Words   |  7 PagesJuvenile delinquency has impacted the criminal justice system in various ways. It has grown over the past years and many do not know how it evolved. For once, family structure can affect juvenile delinquency in numerous of ways. The independent variable is family structure and the dependent variable is juvenile delinquency. Home environment does indeed play a role in the production of juvenile delinquency. Kierkus and Hewitt (2009) in The Contextual Nature of the Family Structure/Delinquency relationshipRead MoreCriminal Justice1465 Words   |  6 PagesAbstract: This essay will talk about the lack of family structure can be one of the biggest causes of delinquency. It touches on four objectives on how lack of family structure can be a cause to a child’s delinquency. One of the biggest causes of delinquency is the lack of stable family structure. For instance, a child could be hurt, if not receiving passionate love and care from their parents. Those not receiving love from their parents or their guardian as a child will probably act out for

Alternative Investment Classes And Their Role In Investment Portfolio

Question: Explain the Alternative Investment Classes and their role in Investment Portfolio? Answer: Alternative Investment Classes and their role in Investment Portfolio Investment Management is managing the portfolios of clients by buying or selling or securities or assets having a certain goal or objective to maximize return and reducing risks, involved in such securities. Alternative investments are different from the regular or traditional type of investment, traditional investment consist of stock and bonds whereas alternative investment are generally not as liquid as stocks, bonds and it consists of hedge funds, investment in venture capital, private equity, exchange traded fund, commodities, currencies, financial derivatives, investment in art, antiques, precious metals, gold and silver, investment in wine, stamp etc. Investment in alternative assets requires regular updated knowledge about the market, and common investors do not generally invest in such securities.(Tuchman, 2013)(Tuchman, Investment Mahangement For Serious Savers, 2013) Different types of alternative investments are enumerated below:- 1. Hedge Funds These are funds available for a limited number of investors, and required a huge amount of initial investments. Hedge funds are not regulated, and such funds promise to fetch a positive return even when the market is down. Such funds are basically introduced for the purpose of risk reduction, and hedge fund can take an extreme long short position in one counter or two counters. Names like SAC Capital, Bridgewater, Global Alpha (Goldman) are most renowned hedge instruments. Lack of diversification or lack of clarity can be a real problem in such funds. Transfer of interest is limited as there is no secondary market involved as such. Sometimes the expenditures can offset the profit earned for employing a comparatively costly hedge fund strategy. These are some of the risks associated with hedge funds. There are several strategies to get absolute return; such strategies are convertible arbitrage strategy, equity market long short, global macro strategy, fixed income arbitrage, fund of funds etc.(Diedrich, 2014) Convertible arbitrage strategy works by purchasing an optionally convertible bond(OCB), computing the delta of the call option embedded with the OCB, and short selling the equity(i.e. no of bonds * delta as computed) Equity market long short refers to going long in an underpriced and going short in an overpriced stock. Global macro strategy is flexible and most refined strategy which takes advantage of arbitrage opportunities in currency, commodity, equity and debt markets all over the world. The objective of fixed income arbitrage is to reduce the interest rate risk. Fund of fund involves hedging for multiple investors. A disadvantage is this is that it is an expensive strategy.(Friedland, 2011)(Jackson, 2013) 2. Private Equity Private equity, unlike public equity are not traded in the countrys stock exchange, it deals with stocks of private companies or public companies who stocks have turned out to be delisted from the recognized stock exchange. The objective of this asset is to undertake those concerns which have potential to generate growth in future, and selling those entities in a higher value. (Dumon)(Idzorek, 2007) There are some risks involved in the investment of private equity, professional advice and going for a renowned private equity firm can mitigate the risks of potential losses. Clear idea about the offerings by checking documents would also help the investors to get ideas before investing. (Pelletier, 2013) There are several strategies like Leverage buy out, venture capital, mezzanine capital, distressed to control strategy. 3. Exchange Traded Fund Exchange traded funds are developed to check the activities and motions of currencies or commodities in the market. Currency ETFs like Yen, Euro the investment in such assets is basically meant for short term investments. An example would be Powershares DB US Dollar Bullish Fund (UUP). Commodity ETFs on the other hand gives protection against rise and fall of inflation index. An example of commodity ETF is i Shares SP GSCI(R) Commodity-Indexed Trust (GSG). Investment of ETF suffers from some disadvantages. Suppose the market is an inactive one then there varies chances that the investors would definitely purchase units of ETFs even if it is traded in the market. The discounts and premiums of such units also vary as the type of ETFs and time period influence the same.(Myers, 2011) 4. Real Estate Suppose Mr. A is planning to purchase a plot of building which is meant for office purposes from XYZ Pty Ltd with an objective to sale the property after two years and earning maximum return from such sale, this is a private investment in such plot of building which is an investment in a real estate property. It mostly earns favourable returns unless some uncertainties are attached to it. Changes in the economy of the country, regional market changes, financing risks are some of the weaknesses of this type of investment. Other than these, its disinvestment strategy, capital gain and hedging of inflation makes it more reliable.(Baron, 2013) 5. Investment in Gold Investment in gold has been safe and perfect for investors who want to invest in short term instruments. The nations which suffer from inflationary pressure are mostly dependant on gold. When it is said, investment in gold, it is not meant over here to invest in gold jewelries, as a lot of gold wastages and a higher amount of making charge is involved in that. Raw good biscuits or coins are real investment in such case. The opportunity cost to invest in any other kind of alternative investment assets is a risk involved in such case. Examples of investment in gold are by gold exchange traded funds, gold stocks, gold futures and options.(Robert Johnson, 1997)(Wadhwa, 2014) 6. Investment in Wine Investment in wine is also another type of alternative investment, like investment in gold or real estate. For example, someone invests in a bottle of wine and sells it later in order to get a higher return, or buying units of stock in wine fund that fetches required return. But investment in wine suffers from some deficiency as until and unless it is sold in the market it does not fetch any amount of return. The costs involved in preserving such wine would turn out to be a loss if there remains no increase in the value of investment. (Walne, 2014) 7. Financial Derivatives Financial derivatives can be termed as most complex from all of the types described above as of now. The general types of derivatives are futures, options, forwards, swaps, swaptions. Derivatives are like that of bets; it is a contract between parties and can be used as a financial asset and are traded over the counter. For example, a contract relating to crop futures can also be regarded as derivative. An agriculturist at present might allow selling its product to a broker or vendor during the winter season. Now if the price increases, the agriculturist may not earn sufficient return but if price decreases, it does not incur any loss. Lack of clarity or transparency, lack of professional advice and human error can be major drawbacks involved with the investment in such instruments.(Milton) Another important type of alternative investment is investment in the arts and antiques. For long term investment it is a good catch.(Brown, 2013) Buying from globally renowned artists or from an art and antiques international fair and selling it in the home market among the people or businessmen who have sophistication in such artifacts is a mechanism involved in such investment. One should take help from experts to confirm the originality of the article.(Wright, 2013) Alternative Investment in financial portfolio construction and management process A portfolio is constructed with various types of assets. The composition of each type of asset involves a decision making process that at what time, one needs to hold or sell the units of investment. The risk averse investors follow a conservative investment strategy in which the instrument has greater level of return or fixed level of return. An investor who is ready to tolerate risk would prefer long term investment and a moderately aggressive portfolio. For example, a moderately aggressive portfolio would be constructed with atleast 50% of Equities, 40% fixed income securities and 10% cash. There are several strategies involved with the types of alternative investments. Strategies relating to hedge funds have been discussed above. Those strategies can mitigate the level of exposures of risk in such instruments and can increase diversification, generate capital gains unlike traditional investment. A portfolio shall always consist of such units of financial assets the value of which will increase or decrease irrespective of the directions of stock market. While constructing a portfolio which involves an alternatives strategy, at least 20% of such portfolios asset should be out of alternative investments. Alternative investments have several strategies to manage risk and therefore it would not be wise for an investor to invest only in stocks, bonds and cash. (Pavia, 2013)(Hussey, 2010) Image Source:(HOWARD, 2014) In the above image, it is seen that alternatives did not bring as much as return as brought by equity or fixed income investments but they worked as a risk reducer and helped in diversification as well which could be seen from the calculation of sharpe ratio (Data has been taken from (HOWARD, 2014) ) . Assets Type 1year return (as of 11/30/2013) 1year risk (as of 11/30/2013) Sharpe Ratio( Return-Risk free rate)/ standard deviation Alternatives 6.65% 2.46% 2.68 U S Equity 31.71% 13.85% 2.29 Bonds -1.61% 3.93% -0.42 (Risk free rate is 0.06, as of 11/30/2013) Reasons for investing in alternative investments are reducing the risk by employing certain strategies meant for securities, diversification, inflation hedge and lastly higher amount of return. Unlike traditional assets, in alternative assets risk is managed without affecting the earned profits. Institutional investors mainly want to invest in alternatives due to its advantage of diversification. There are many options available in alternative investments unlike traditional investments, and unit of investment can be properly chosen accordingly. The benefits of investing in the alternatives can also be explained with the help of Markowitz Efficient Frontier. The above is the illustration of Markowitz Efficient Frontier, shows portfolios with lowest risk and a particular return or portfolio of highest return and a particular portion of risk. The efficient frontier for both traditional and alternative investments is on upper level representing return is more in that alternative.(Karavas, 2000) Recommendations : An investor trading in the traditional markets would be benefitted if invests in alternative securities along with bonds and stocks. The investors who have lesser knowledge about the derivative markets or are not confident about investing in such markets, it can be recommended to invest in precious metals, gold stocks, stamps, antiques as information regarding these instruments are available in a seamlessly cogent language which is understandable for all kinds of investors. Advice of professionals, brokers or agencies are required in case an investor is lacking expertise in the field of capital market instruments. Daily updating of facts relating to these instruments are necessary for short term investments as well. The implementation of strategies is to be done in a suitable manner so that it can benefit the investors without affecting the significant portion of return or profit. Before investing in a particular fund, one should consider the pros and cons involved with it and the extent of pros and cons and then it should opt for investing in such fund. Different countries have different rules or guidelines for investing in an alternative investments made by governing body, which should be taken care of and should not be ignored at any cost. The risks associated with investing in a fund are required to be evaluated properly. Summarization/Conclusion of discussion : There are various kinds of alternative investments. Alternative investments are different from traditional investments; investing in traditional investment is a common phenomenon. If traditional investments like stocks and bonds are invested and a particular percentage of investment is made in the alternatives along with stocks or bonds, the construction of the portfolio shall be optimum. Unlike traditional assets, alternative assets benefit the portfolio of investors by diversification, inflation hedging, and risk mitigation. Different alternative investment funds have different types of strategies which are used for the minimization of risk and volatility. Currencies, hedge funds, financial derivatives instruments needs knowledge, otherwise impracticality or human errors can cause a huge loss in those sectors. Other types of alternatives like investments in gold and silver, wine, a work of art or antiques, stamps are relatively less risky than the rest of the alternatives. Real est ate and investment in private equity has also helped in strengthening a portfolio structure to balance its risks and returns. References Baron, L. (2013). Three Things That Make A Great Real Estate Investment. Forbes , 1-2. Brown, J. (2013). Art, antiques investing is for the long haul. USA Today , 1-2. Diedrich, S. (2014). 'Alternative' or 'Hedged' Mutual Funds: What Are They, How Do They Work, and Should You Invest? Forbes , 1-3. Dumon, M. (n.d.). What is Private Equity. Investopedia , 1-2. Friedland, D. (2011). Magnum Funds -Synopsis of Hedge Fund Strategies. Retrieved 2011, from https://www.magnum.com/: https://www.magnum.com/hedgefunds/strategies.asp HOWARD, J. (2014). Exploring the benefits of alternative investments. LifeHealthPro - Markets, Affluent , 2. Hussey, R. M. (2010). Using Alternative Investments to Build a Stronger Portfolio. Advisor Perspectives , 1-3. Idzorek, T. (2007). Private Equity and Strategic Asset Allocation. ibbotson , 7-9. Jackson, L. (2013, September 9). Yahoo Finance. Retrieved September 9, 2013, from https://finance.yahoo.com/: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ten-strategies-hedge-funds-huge-123021171.html Karavas, V. N. (2000). Alternative Investments in the Institutional Portfolio. The Journal of Alternative Investments , 11-25. Milton, A. (n.d.). Derivatives Markets. About Money , 1. Myers, R. (2011). ETFs Make Alternative Investments More Accessible. The Wall Street Journal , 1-2. Pavia, J. (2013). Alternative strategies for 'average' investors. CNBC- Alternative Investing , 1-3. Pelletier, M. (2013). Know the risks before investing in private equity. Financial Post - Investing , 1-2. Robert Johnson, L. A. (1997). Gold as an Investment Asset. The Journal of Investing , 94-99. Tuchman, M. (2013). Investment Mahangement For Serious Savers. Forbes , 1. Tuchman, M. (2013). What is Investment Management? A Primer. Forbes , 1-2. Wadhwa, P. (2014). Should you invest in gold now? Business Standard , 1-2. Walne, T. (2014). Don't just drink those fine wines dahling ... invest in them. This is Money- Financial Mail on Sunday , 1-2. Wright, M. (2013). 10 tips for making money from antiques. The Telegraph (UK) , 1-3.

Radioactive Wastes, Must For The Protection Of Mankind Be Stored Or Di Essay Example For Students

Radioactive Wastes, Must For The Protection Of Mankind Be Stored Or Di Essay sposed in such a manner that isolation from the biosphere is assured until they have decayed to innocuous levels. If this is not done, the world could face severe physical problems to living species living on this planet. Some atoms can disintegrate spontaneously. As they do, they emit ionizing radiation. Atoms having this property are called radioactive. By far the greatest number of uses for radioactivity in Canada relate not to the fission, but to the decay of radioactive materials radioisotopes. These are unstable atoms that emit energy for a period of time that varies with the isotope. During this active period, while the atoms are decaying to a stable state their energies can be used according to the kind of energy they emit. Since the mid 1900s radioactive wastes have been stored in different manners, but since several years new ways of disposing and storing these wastes have been developed so they may no longer be harmful. A very advantageous way of storing radioactive wastes is by a process called vitrification. Vitrification is a semi-continuous process that enables the following operations to be carried out with the same equipment: evaporation of the waste solution mixed with the 1) borosilicate: any of several salts derived from both boric acid and silicic acid and found in certain minerals such as tourmaline. additives necesary for the production of borosilicate glass, calcination and elaboration of the glass. These operations are carried out in a metallic pot that is heated in an induction furnace. The vitrification of one load of wastes comprises of the following stages. The first step is Feeding. In this step the vitrification receives a constant flow of mixture of wastes and of additives until it is 80% full of calcine. The feeding rate and heating power are adjusted so that an aqueous phase of several litres is permanently maintained at the surface of the pot. The second step is the Calcination and glass evaporation. In this step when the pot is practically full of calcine, the temperature is progressively increased up to 1100 to 1500 C and then is maintained for several hours so to allow the glass to elaborate. The third step is Glass casting. The glass is cast in a special container. The heating of the output of the vitrification pot causes the glass plug to melt, thus allowing the glass to flow into containers which are then transferred into the storage. Although part of the waste is transformed into a solid product there is still treatment of gaseous and liquid wastes. The gases that escape from the pot during feeding and calcination are collected and sent to ruthenium filters, condensers and scrubbing columns. The ruthenium filters consist of a bed of 2) condensacate: product of condensation. glass pellets coated with ferrous oxide and maintained at a temperature of 500 C. In the treatment of liquid wastes, the condensates collected contain about 15% ruthenium. This is then concentrated in an evaporator where nitric acid is destroyed by formaldehyde so as to maintain low acidity. The concentration is then neutralized and enters the vitrification pot. Once the vitrification process is finished, the containers are stored in a storage pit. This pit has been designed so that the number of containers that may be stored is equivalent to nine years of production. Powerful ventilators provide air circulation to cool down glass.The glass produced has the advantage of being stored as solid rather than liquid. The advantages of the solids are that they have almost complete insolubility, chemical inertias, absence of volatile products and good radiation resistance. The ruthenium that escapes is absorbed by a filter. The amount of ruthenium likely to be released into the environment is minimal. Another method that is being used today to get rid of radioactive waste is the placement and self processingradioactive wastes in deep underground cavities. Ghosts Essay The batch operation consists of placing a given quantity of waste solution and a predetermined amount of exchanger in a vessel, mixing them well and permitting them to stay in contact until equilibrium is reached. The solution is then filtered. The extent of the exchange is limited by the selectivity of the resin. Therefore, unless the selectivity for the radioactive ion is very favourable, the efficiency of removal will be low. Column application is essentially a large number of batch operations in series. Column operations become more practical. In many waste solutions, the radioactive ions are cations and a single column or series of columns of cation exchanger will provide decontamination. High capacity organic resins are often used because of their good flow rate and rapid rate of exchange. Monobed or mixed bed columns contain cation and anion exchangers in the same vessel. Synthetic organic resins, of the strong acid and strong base type are usually used. During operation of mixed bed columns, cation and anion exchangers are mixed to ensure that the acis formed after contact with the H-form cation resins immediately neutralized by the OH-form anion resin. The monobed or mixed bed systems are normally more economical to process waste solutions. Against background of growing concern over the exposure of the population or any portion of it to any level of radiation, however small, the methods which have been successfully used in the past to dispose of radioactive wastes must be reexamined. There are two commonly used methods, the storage of highly active liquid wastes and the disposal of low activity liquid wastes to a natural environment: sea, river or ground. In the case of the storage of highly active wastes, no absolute guarantee can ever be given. This is because of a possible vessel deterioration or catastrophe which would cause a release of radioactivity. The only alternative to dilutionand dispersion is that of concentration and storage. This is implied for the low activity wastes disposed into the environment. The alternative may be to evaporate off the bulk of the waste to obtain a small concentrated volume. The aim is to develop more efficient types of evaporators. At the same time the decontamination factors obtained in evaporation must be high to ensure that the activity of the condensate is negligible, though there remains the problem of accidental dispersion. Much effort is current in many countries on the establishment of the ultimate disposal methods. These are defined to those who fix the fission product activity in a non-leakable solid state, so that the general dispersion can never occur. The most promising outlines in the near future are; the absorbtion of montmorillonite clay which is comprised of natural clays that have a good capacity for chemical exchange of cations and can store radioactive wastes, fused salt calcination which will neutralize the wastes and high temperature processing. Even though man has made many breakthroughs in the processing, storage and disintegration of radioactive wastes, there is still much work ahead to render the wastes absolutely harmless.