10,000 Years Initiative



The 10,000 Years Initiative was a program to provide secure locations to dispose of leftover nuclear waste from weapons production, research, and energy production while also conveying to future inhabitants the dangers the waste posed to life. The program was headed by the Department of Energy.

Background
Radioactive waste can take many thousands of years to break down and become safe, so construction was initiated to warn potential future inhabitants that this location is inhospitable to life. The 10,000 Years Initiative aims to solve this problem.

To that aim, they would construct the locations with lasting monuments that convey a sense of danger and harm to those who would come across them. Phase One involved the construction of a gigantic concrete spike field, which could withstand weather, erosion, and shifting topography. They are designed to evoke a sense of dread and to discourage building on top of them.

During Phase Two, sturdy metal engravings were posted around the perimeter. These engravings were sealed and treated to withstand harsh conditions. They include pictograms instead of modern language, in order to clearly convey a sense of danger to life, transcending any potential language barriers millennia from now. Once the site is filled to capacity, it was to be sealed and left alone for as long as it presents a danger to life. While this would not guarantee safety forever, nor that future generations will heed the warnings, it would provide all possible warnings of the danger for them.

Known locations

 * Federal disposal field HZ-21

Behind the scenes
The 10,000 Years Initiative is a project that exists in our world under the long-time nuclear waste warning messages and attempts to achieve the same goals. The differences between our world and Fallout's world are great, as the project is only being researched at Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and research is still being performed, while in-game the project seems to have been successfully proposed to the federal government and multiple sites constructed.