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Are some nuclear wastes stored for centuries to prevent dangerous radioactivity from escaping?
Yes. Some radioactive waste, like spent nuclear fuel, remains highly radioactive for thousands of years. Attempts were made to reprocess the spent fuel, but it is extremely dangerous and it is not very cost effective in many cases to do so. There are other forms of radioactive waste generated every day, but we work at being careful about what we generate to avoid having to store it. But the problem with nuclear fuel is a major one. Spent fuel is far and away the major contributor to high level radioactive waste in the world. Consider that 235U and 239Pu are the most common nuclear fuels. When they fission, they leave behind fission products. (The atom of fissile material "split in two" and there are a pair of fission fragments. Different pairs of fragments are possible.) With either fuel, there are over a dozen fission products from the fission process that have a half-life measured in thousands of years. There are a lot of fission products in the spent fuel, they are highly radioactive, and the remain highly radioactive for thousands of years after use. We can't just throw them away.
What else can I help you with?
What are the harmful influence of nuclear power and what can be done?
There isn't any, for the most part. It is dangerous if you are positioned near nuclear or radioactive materials while being unprotected for a short to extended time is considered dangerous and could as well be dangerous. But to civilians on the outside, quite harmless. But when the plant goes through a meltdown, boom, it's dangerous.
Why is nuclear waste considered so dangereous?
The most harmful of which are gamma rays. When the human body is exposed to radiation, it can cause tumors and can do extreme damage to the reproductive organs. For this reason, problems associated with radioactivity can be passed on to the victim's children as well. That is why radioactive waste produced by nuclear power plants is so dangerous.
How is nuclear waste created?
High level nuclear waste is created in two main ways: - Nuclear energy reactors during normal operations generate radioactivity which affects metals and water in the plant; also used-up fuel is left over after being used for reaction. - Nuclear weapons programs use nuclear reactors to create plutonium with a lot of radioactive byproducts. The leftover materials and just about everything that comes near the weapons material becomes nuclear waste. Low level nuclear waste is created in many ways, some of them not so obvious. - Hospitals use radiation in cancer treatment, nuclear imaging, etc. - Homes use radioactive materials in smoke detectors. - Naturally occurring radiation can effectively be concentrated in air and water filters, such as radon filters for well water. - Naturally occurring radiation can be concentrated in coal ash by coal-fired power plants, often along with dangerous pollutants like mercury. There are many other sources of low level nuclear waste and many tons of it must be safely disposed.
Can nuclear waste catch on fire?
The USSR had a nuclear waste dump have a steam explosion at a site called Chelabinsk-40 in the late 50s, when decay heat melted snow above the dump saturating it with water and bringing it to criticality. Note it did not have a nuclear explosion, just a steam explosion. However it scattered radioactive mud over a large area, requiring evacuation of several villages.
Why not dispose of nuclear waste in a volcano?
Mecause melting does not destroy the radioactivity. Whatever burns would cause radioactive ash/smoke that would be carried away on the wind. the rest would just turn a patch of the lava radioactive.
You nuclear wastes must be stored for centuries to prevent dangerous radioactivity from escaping?
Yes
Is the radioactive waste from nuclear power plants dangerous?
It contains a higher amount of radioactivity
Advantages of nuclear radioactivity?
What other sort of radioactivity is there?
Does a nuclear generating station make pollution?
No, but the spent fuel must be carefully stored after use because it does contain dangerous radioactivity.
What are the disadvantages of radioactivity to the world at large?
It can be dangerous. Thousands of people died from the radiation caused by the only 2 nuclear weapons used for war.
Cause of radioactivity?
Nuclear activity
What is the force that is responsible for the radioactivity that allows us to make nuclear power and atomic bombs?
There are two forces responsible for radioactivity: the Strong nuclear force and the Weak nuclear force.
What makes up nuclear energy?
radioactivity.
What is the release of nuclear particles and energy?
Radioactivity
Why is nuclear energy is dangerous to living things?
Radioactivity causes damage to living tissues, and if high enough can cause death by failure of vital organs or blood disorders. The nuclear industry is only possible because it has been designed and engineered and operated to very high standards so that release of radioactivity is avoided.
What are the environmental effects of nuclear fallout?
"The environmental radioactivity is increased." That's it?
What is the name of a scientist studies radioactivity?
A scientist who studies radioactivity is called a nuclear physicist or a radiologist.
