Can 'The Scream' painting warn future generations of radioactive waste risks?

Norwegian painter Edvard Munch's "The Scream," which depicts a man covering his ears and opening his mouth against the backdrop of the red sky, is so impressive that those who see the work once will never forget it. The artist drew four pictures with the same composition.

Sotheby's has announced that it will auction off one of the works in May. Since the painting is so well known to the world, rumors that the successful bid will be over 6 billion yen should not be dismissed.

One of the four paintings was stolen from a museum in 2004. Even though it was subsequently recovered, how the work was stolen is shrouded in mystery.

"The Scream" reminds many people of "Into Eternity," a documentary film whose Japanese title is "Jumannen-go-no Anzen" (Safety 100,000 years later). The work depicts the Onkalo final disposal site for spent nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants, which is under construction on the island of Olkiluoto, Finland. It is a repository to be built in solid bedrock by digging an underground tunnel.

The biggest problem is that it will take 100,000 years before radioactive waste becomes harmless. Homo Neanderthalensis still existed 100,000 years ago, and mysterious dwarfs reportedly inhabited Indonesia more than 10,000 years ago. Many people wonder how to inform future human species of the risks that Onkalo will pose. It was subsequently proposed to use Munch's "The Scream" to that end.

This photo provided by Sotheby's shows "The Scream" by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch.(AP Photo/Sotheby's)

However, one cannot help but wonder whether the work can really warn future species, who may not understand our languages, of the danger.

The Japanese government is now holding a debate on how to deal with spent nuclear fuel, with particular attention focused on what to do with a nuclear fuel recycling project that it has promoted as part of its key energy policy.

However, radioactive waste will remain regardless of whether it is reprocessed or not. In other words, Japan has no choice but to build a final disposal site for such toxic waste.

How can we inform mankind some 100,000 years into the future of the existence of radioactive waste? Discussions on the issue have yet to begin while we are aware of risks posed by radiation that leaked from the tsunami-hit Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant. ("Yoroku," a front-page column in the Mainichi Shimbun)