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All nuclear fuels contain radioactive elements.

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The difference between nuclear waste and nuclear weapons?

The exact contents of radioactive waste from a nuclear power plant and radioactive fallout from a nuclear weapon can vary widely but are likely to be similar in their primary isotopes.The major difference between the radioactive waste from a nuclear power plant and radioactive fallout from a nuclear weapon is that the waste is normally contained and will not enter the environment (unless an accident happens) while the fallout is dispersed into the environment and is carried by the wind (sometimes all the way around the world multiple times).


An alternative to oil resources but it is requires careful disposal of the radioactive waste which is produced?

Plutionium, Uranium and/or Americum can all be used to fuel a nuclear fission power station


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.


Is the use of high level radioactive waste from nuclear power station for the production of the raw materials for nuclear weapons a justifiable proposition?

High level radioactive waste would have no potential for producing a nuclear explosion, so your question is puzzling. Perhaps you mean production of a dirty bomb, which terrorists might use to contaminate an area by spreading radioactive material around using a conventional explosive. That is obviously not justified unless you are a terrorist.Plutonium can be extracted from spent uranium fuel and used in nuclear weapons, but I would not describe it as high level radioactive waste, plutonium is only mildly radioactive.In fact I think at present in the US and in Russia, the stockpile of nuclear weapons is being reduced and some of the fissile material is going into civil nuclear reactor fuel.


Does Nuclear fission as used in nuclear power plants produces radioactive waste with long half lives?

yes, Nuclear fission as used in nuclear power plants produces radioactive waste with long half lives. However, this creates no problems. This wastes are either confined in the spent nuclear fuel (that is stored either in wet storage or in dry storage facilities) or stored as vitrified nuclear waste.

Related Questions

What is radioactive fuel?

Nuclear


If uranium is not a foosil fuel then what is it?

Uranium is a radioactive element used to fuel nuclear reactors. It is a nuclear fuel.


Which fuel produces radioactive waste?

Uranium


Which metal is used for radioactive nuclear fuel?

Uranium


What metal is a radioactive nuclear fuel?

Uranium is the most used nuclear fuel. Plutonium can also be used, but it has to be separated from used uranium fuel


What is the definition of radioactive fuel?

Radioactive fuel is a substance, such as uranium or plutonium, that undergoes nuclear fission in a reactor to produce energy. This process releases large amounts of heat that can be converted into electricity.


What kind of nuclear waste are produced by nuclear energy?

Radioactive waves


Is coal a nonrenewable nuclear power source?

Cola is a renewable thermal fuel power source. It is not radioactive in the sense of nuclear plant fuel.


Which energy source generates radioactive waste?

Nuclear energy generates radioactive waste in the form of spent nuclear fuel, which contains radioactive isotopes. This waste must be stored and managed properly due to its long-term hazardous nature.


What is bad about nuclear waste?

It is highly radioactive (that is the waste contained in the spent fuel)


What was the fuel used in chernobyl?

The Chernobyl disaster in 1986 involved a nuclear reactor that used uranium-235 as its fuel. This radioactive fuel contributed to the catastrophic explosion and subsequent release of radioactive materials into the environment.


What is a used fuel in nuclear power plants?

The used fuel in a nuclear power plant is the nuclear fuel being discharged from the nuclear reactor after being irradiated during reactor operation. It is usually composed of trans-uranium heavy elements, a wide variety of fission products (that resulted from the nuclear fission processes in the nuclear reactor) and products of radioactive decay (produced before and after fuel discharge from the nuclear reactor).