answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

Not by a long shot. The most radioactive isotopes will decay very rapidly and be safe in much less than 50 years (e.g. iodine-131 with a halflife of about 8 days will be gone in less than 2 months), but less radioactive isotopes will decay so slowly they can be around for hundreds of thousand of years (e.g. plutonium-239 with a halflife of 24400 years will be gone in under 200000 years) to longer than the age of the universe (e.g. uranium-238). Slightly oversimplified, the most dangerous isotopes in nuclear waste tend on average to disappear first with less dangerous isotopes persisting for longer periods.

User Avatar

Wiki User

7y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: Does all nuclear wastes completely disappear after 50 years?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Continue Learning about Music & Radio

Why Eminem disappear for 5 years?

He had a drug and alcohol problem, but he is now sober and doesn't do drugs.


What is the estimate for how long it takes nuclear waste to complettly decay?

Each radioactive isotope has its own rate of decay, called the "half-life". This is the time that it takes for one-half of the radioactive elements to decay into something else. For very radioactive elements, the half-life is pretty short, but sometimes the element that id decays into is itself radioactive. It _NEVER_ completely decays, but at some point the nuclear waste is no more radioactive than the background material. Remember that some elements like uranium are naturally found in rock formations, and that elements like radon are naturally occuring in the environment. This becomes a problem in the basements moutainous areas, where radon gas accumulates and can cause lung cancers. In general, nuclear waste needs to be protected and isolated for about 50 years; after that, the residual radioactivity isn't going to be especially hazardous.


Are Nuclear wastes non biodegradable?

Actually, they are biodegradeable, sort of. Radioactive materials do decay, or become weaker over time. Eventually they become inert, or non-radioactive. The problem is some radioactive isotopes take tens or even hundreds of thousands or millions of years to decay. The decay rate of a radioactive element is measured in half-lives. After one half-life, half of the radioctivity is gone. Take an element with a half-life of ten years. After ten years, there is half of the radioactivity present. After 20 years, one quarter, after 30 years, one eighth, and so forth. Eventually the level will fall to the point it poses no danger. Plutonium-239 has a half-life of 24,000 years. Uranium-235, used in nuclear reactors, has a half-life of 713,000,000 years.


How long does nuclear waste need to be safely stored?

1,000,000 years


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.

Related questions

What will happen to Saturn in 100 million years?

In 100 million years, Saturn's rings will completely disappear.


What waste problems of nuclear power plants is NOT a problem with a coal-burning power plant?

Radioactive wastes that can last thousands of years


When did the neanderthals die out?

Neanderthals went extinct around 40,000 years ago. The exact reasons for their extinction are still debated among scientists, but factors such as climate change, competition with modern humans, and potential interbreeding are likely to have played a role.


What is the estimates for how long it takes nuclear waste to completely decay?

dudee........You wont see it. Its 10,000 years.


Will the lump from a lip piercing go away?

maybe in time usually depending on how long you had it It may reduce over the years, but will never completely disappear as it is scar tissue.


In how many years will it take for Venice to disappear?

There is no way to tell exactly how many years it will take for Venice to disappear. This is unknown.


What are Disadvantages of nuclear energy as energy resources?

The waste of nuclear plants are bars that have to be contained within a specific area (somewhere in Nevada for the United States) to decay slowly for thousands of years, releasing a lot of radiation in that time span.


If this is the case then will it disappear from chex systems after 5 years?

Entries posted in Chex Systems can stay up to 5 years. After 5 years, the entries will disappear from the record.


When did the neanderthals disappear?

About 27,000 years ago.


Can constellations disappear?

Over billions of years, maybe.


How long does a plastic bottle to disappear?

1000 years


What factors make nuclear power expensive?

No one has found a way to get rid of nuclear wastes, there is a lot of security dealing with nuclear power, an accident at a nuclear reactor can be dangerous for miles around and for years to come. Except for hydrogen bombs, nuclear fusion power has not been harnessed by people for more than a few seconds. Considering that all a nuclear (fission) power plant does is to boil water and turn it into steam, there are better ways of making electricity than nuclear power (except for submarines and aircraft carriers). Remember Three Mile Island and Chernobyl? That's why nuclear power is so expensive.