In 2002, [Desert Space Foundation Director Josh] Abbey created a design competition to find a permanent warning sign for the proposed nuclear waste site [in Yucca Mountain, Nevada]. The purpose of the competition, he says, is to find a universal warning sign which conveys that the deposit is highly dangerous. One caveat: the symbols have to work even if language or communication breaks down in the future. And the design has to last at least 10,000 years.
In my response to this, I researched the ancient practice of salting the earth in order to forever rid life surrounding the repository. It was important to not to glorify or bring attention to the repository with any sort of structures which could potentially deliver a different message to the visitor of the sight.
