Pacific Northwest National Lab scientist researching glass to bind up Hanford radioactive waste

Carolyn Pearce is busy digging up, cutting up and even x-raying ancient glass across the globe for study. Why? She’s trying to figure out the properties of the strongest glass on earth today, ones that have survived for thousands of years. That way the U.S. Department of Energy can be confident in its science to bind up radioactive wastes for thousands of years to come. Some of the glass she’s working with is from a Swedish hillfort, some from glass beads from a burial site in Poland, and some from the Newberry volcano in Oregon.  We sit down with her at our remote studio on the Washington State University Tri-Cities campus. 

OPB's daily conversation covering news, politics, culture and the arts. Hosted By Dave Miller.