What can nuclear waste do to you?

Answer 1

There are 2 primary hazards of nuclear waste. The first is a simple one- a chemical hazard. Some wastes are poisonous, just like their non-radioactive cousins. Poisons can damage different organs of the body, and make you sick- or in high enough concentrations, kill you. The second hazard is the ionizing radiation given off by the waste. Depending on the waste, this may be very low level that is only dangerous if ingested into the body, or high enough to damage the whole body. Known as radiation sickness, an overexposure to hard (ionizing) radiation can cause failures of organ systems, sickness or death, and can cause cancer. The degree of hazard depends on the form of the waste, and how "hot" it is. A solid piece of concrete or steel that is mildly radioactive can be placed in storage with little danger of it being carried into the environment. A water soluble substance like iodine is at a greater hazard of leaching into the environment, and being absorbed by your body.

Answer 2

Nuclear waste comes from various commercial and government operations involving use of radioactive materials. Some is from mining, refining, and enrichment operations. Some of these are chemical operations that use radioactive isotopes for some purpose. Some are medical operations, and one of the worst nuclear accidents in history happened as a result of radioactive medical materials not being disposed of properly. Some nuclear waste is from military operations. Some nuclear wast is from power plants, and this can be low level waste, such as clothing, tools, equipment and parts, coolant, and so on, that has been exposed, or high level waste, which is the spent nuclear fuel. The spent fuel is far more intensely radioactive than unused fuel, and how to deal with it is very much a problem, that has not been solved.

Answer 3

it kills us by getting into our body by breathing it in and it can kill us by this.