Waste and Recycling
Nuclear Energy
Radioactive Waste

How would nuclear waste harm the environment?

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Answer

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01/28/2015

Nuclear waste would harm people and animals rather than the environment as such. I have not seen evidence on the effect of radiation on vegetation. Nuclear waste must be well contained and shielded to avoid damaging people, and so long as everyone concerned is careful and responsible, this won't happen.
If it leaked into rivers or was spread over farmland it would be ingested by grazing animals and fish and hence would enter the human food chain, and if it became high enough would then start to harm human health.