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Radioactive Waste
Radioactive waste is waste that contains radioactive materials. This can be caused by nuclear fission, nuclear medicine, radiography, and other sources. There are very strict rules about the storage and disposal of radioactive waste.
334 Questions
How long is nuclear waste around for before it is considered safe?
There are different ways of looking at this. And one should be warned that the idea of a half life is not immediately applicable to safety. Knowing the half life, you still have to do a lot of calculating, more than ordinary people can do in their heads.
The government of the United States has said high level waste from nuclear power plants will be safe in about 1,000,000 years. Unfortunately, there is no easily understood explanation of how they came to that number.
A much more easily understood number is used in Europe. The standard is that the material is safe when its radioactivity is no more than what comes from naturally occurring ores of uranium. This is easier because it can be calculated with some degree of precision, and the idea of safety is understandable. The number arrived at is 6,000,000 years.
To understand this fully, we have to keep in mind what 1,000,000 or 6,000,000 years means. Human history is only 5500 years old. But that history only applies to the places where it existed. Recorded history of most parts the world, including most of Africa, all of North and South America, and much of northern Europe and Asia is less than 1000 years old. It is really hard for anyone to imagine 1,000,000 years or what will happen in that time.
How much waste is produced by coal power plants per kWh?
There is around 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide waste produced by coal power plants. This is released by a natural gas.
What are three major hazards for possible nuclear waste storage sites?
Flooding, earthquakes, volcanic action.
Why should they store nuclear waste at yucca mountain?
Well it should be desirable in the long run to store it in one specialised place rather than on individual power plant sites as at present in the US
Where is nuclear waste being stored in Utah?
In the Lake of Salt Lake.....You can't find them no wherelse..
Radioactive waste bags would usually be either yellow or bright orange, with the radioactivity trefoil printed on it along with warnings.
It should be noted, that though Radioactive waste SHOULD be stored in Yellow bags, and tagged as "Radioactive Waste", Not all yellow bags contain radioactive waste, And, yellow bags that one finds loose, without a tag, MAY BE Radioactive Waste, and treated as a "SPILL", or "Loss of control of Radioactive Material". At that point, proper personnel should be notified, and the person finding the bag, should stand fast, allowing NO ONE to go anywhere NEAR the bag, until it has been disposed of by trained and certified personnel, and the area around and leading to the bag, declared "Clean". Naturally, this type of action and problem usually only occurs in and around places that handle Radioactive Material/Waste. But, a Hospital, DOES quite often handle both low level, and HIGH level Radioactive Materiel, and therefore, Yellow bags, should be assumed Radioactive, properly tagged or not.
What are solutions for nuclear waste and radiation?
As for disposal, several methods exist to keep nuclear material away from humans and vice versa. Geologic disposal (such as the Yucca Mountain facility), transmutation (a process wherein radioactive material is changed into more stable forms), and reuse of fuel material in advanced reactor designs. I'm only aware of storage currently being used, transmutation and advanced reactors are currently under development around the globe.
A great deal of R&D and policy decisions are needed before the nuclear waste issue can be completely solved. The R&D work is being carried out at universities and laboratories around the world and hopefully the policy-makers will have come to their senses before it is too late.
One possible solution to the problem would be to re-enrich the uranium in the spent fuel and develop advanced reactor fuels to burn long-lived radioisotopes (such as transuranic elements). If these can be removed from the waste, the time frame for required observation of geologically disposed waste would be reduced to a few hundred years; a much more manageable scale than the current requirement of thousands of years. Not only would this reduce the long-term waste liability of these materials, it would also provide a new energy source from the spent fuel.
Here are more opinions and answers from other FAQ Farmers:
- There are no good solutions. Right now the government is planning on burrying our nuclear waste in a saced native American mountain where it can leach into the ground eventually. Also, this option would only get rid of some of the waste. We need to start investing in renuable energy like wind and solar energy.
- Currently nuclear waste goes into the ocean in areas not controlled by any particular country [over 12 miles from land, I can't remember the actual distance].
Which explains why radioactive waste is so difficult to get rid of?
it radioactive you just can't flush it down the toilet
What is the average cost to dismantle a nuclear power plant?
I think only a company that owns a plant being de-commissioned could answer this.
Where does nuclear waste go from a nuclear submarine?
In the United States, when a nuclear submarine has "run out of" nuclear fuel for its reactor (this takes many years), the reactor may be opened, and the spent fuel sent for reprocessing at the Naval Reactors facility at the Idaho National Laboratory. The reactor's core may then be refueled. This process can take some time, and handling the spent fuel is dangerous and requires complex procedures to prevent contamination. If the submarine is to be overhauled, or retired, the fuel is removed for reprocessing, and the reactor compartment is cut out of the submarine, sealed, and moved for disposal to the Department of Energy's Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington State, where they are kept in dry storage. The submarine may be welded back together, or the sections floated, until a new compartment and reactor are installed, or the vessel is cut up for scrap. Low level radioactive waste may be handled in other ways.
What two steps are taken before burying the radioactive waste?
The waste is sealed into glass blocks and then the blocks are sealed into metal canisters before being buried deep underground.
How is nuclear waste disposed?
Nuclear waste is not easily disposed. It goes an abundance of processes to conclude in it becoming 98% less "Radioactive". This Waste is then formed into a childrens "Sweetie" called Toxic Waste. No deaths have yet resulted in this.
How many general categories are there for radioactive waste?
In general terms there are three levels of waste defined, though in practice these are sub-divided as necessary depending on thr nature of the waste.There is also transuranic waste mainly produced from weapons programmes. See the article linked below
No.
What are some precautions needed when disposing radioactive waste?
It should isolated from underground water and isolated from rivers and drinking water. It should be away from expected earthquake
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.
Why do people think nuclear testing above ground was eventually banned?
They learned about how far fallout can travel and affect people outside blast zones.
How does nuclear waste cause land pollution?
It would cause pollution because it would harm men or animals using the land, and would contaminate food produced on the land. However this is not allowed to happen, nuclear waste is carefully controlled and confined to waste stores designed for the purpose
How is nuclear waste contained stored and disposed of and how does it effect nature?
Radioactive wastes are stored in mines; in normal condition they have a nonsignificant effect on the nature.
Why should nuclear waste be dumped in the desert?
It shouldn't. The exportation of toxic and dangerous substances to a foreign land is illegal under international law.
Should radioactive waste and leaks be classed as pollution?
Radioactive waste depending on the dosage should be classified as 'pollution'. The waste word used really difines my reasoning. Its waste, unneeded products in our atmosphere, even if it is safe raioactive waste (in which i dont believe there is such a thing because further testing has not been done to work out future effects of radioactive waste on humans we may be slowly mutating) it is still unnatural 'waste' in our atmosphere. Definition of Pollution: the introduction of harmful substances or products into the environment. Radiation is not classified as healthy neither is waste and so far as i said there hasn't been further investigating into the long term effects of radiation even small leaks, so i would say that Raioactive waste/leaks should be classed as pollution.
What is hazardous nuclear waste disposal?
Radioactive wastes are introduced in special containers and placed in special controlled locations.
