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In the US it is stored on the power plant sites because no central repository has been authorised so far. In some countries like the UK and France, it is brought together on one site - Sellafield in the UK. But there is still no final long term store available.
There are different was to store the waste, at the plants where it was produced. Initial storage is usually in what is called a spent fuel pool, which is literally a large pool of water. This is done because the fuel is very hot and radioactive for a period while the isotopes with short half lives decay a bit. The period is usually more than five years.
After the time at the spent fuel pool, it may be removed to what are called dry casks. These are made of thick concrete and allow the materials to decay longer without a need for a constant supply of water.
Research is still being done in how to deal with nuclear waste.
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Wiki User
∙ 10y agoIt depends on the waste form (solid, liquid. gaseous) and the radioactivity level (low, intermediate, high). Primarily; three methods are applied:
delay and decay: to maintain waste in tanks for some periods of time to allow decay of radioactivity and then to be disposed of to environment.
dilute and disperse: to dispose to environment (through dilution and dispersion, incineration) as ocean, sea, atmosphere, etc.
contain and concentrate: This is used mainly for high level radioactive waste as spent fuel or the spent fuel reprocessing products; either in wet storage under water, dry storage in casks to be stored on ground or underground, or vitrified waste contained in barrels mixed with cement or asphalt.
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Why should nuclear power go down?
Large startup costs and the generation of nuclear waste
Which is a disadvantage of nuclear energy?
Nuclear explosion produce radiation May create a melt down
How is nuclear energy store for later?
It is not stored for later, all you can do is damp down the reactor with control rods.
How should conoes be stored?
hanging upside down
How should canoes be stored?
hanging upside down
Which is a problem caused by using nuclear energy?
There are arguments about where to store waste.
What are the economic disadvantages of nuclear power?
Disadvantages of Nuclear Power:· Nuclear Power generates radiation, which can be harmful or even fatal to infected people.· A nuclear meltdown can occur which will release massive amounts of radiation into the community.· Extremely radioactive nuclear waste is produced by nuclear power plants. This stuff can't be just thrown out. The US plans to move all its nuclear was to an underground dump by the year 2010. Currently it is stored in the plants.· Nuclear waste dumps can spontaneously combust without warning.· Nuclear reactors only last for about forty to fifty years, so where they are extremely productive, they break down and are costly to replace.· There are international dangers too. Some reactors produce plutonium which can be used to make nuclear weapons. If the whole world were to use these, they would have unlimited access to nuclear weapons.
How much nuclear waste is produced each year?
The radioactive fission products from a nuclear reactor are contained in the spent fuel and they stay there whilst the fuel is stored under water or eventually in concrete flasks. Waste will only be produced if and when the spent fuel is broken down and chemically treated, probably to separate out the U-238 and plutonium, which may be worth doing. The waste is then the proportion which is not useful and it will consist of the fission products, ie a range of different elements and their isotopes, many of which are highly radioactive. This material is highly dangerous to life and must be stored safely for a long time (centuries)
What are the possibilities for safe disposal of nuclear waste?
The main four rules are:avoiding the exposure of public to unaccepted radiation levelsto be isolated from underground waterto be away from unaccepted seismic levelsto be not accessible and/or reachable by public
What Are Types Of Nuclear Waste?
Long half life (20,000 years and up) most of these are transuranics and make excellent reactor fuel if separated, they should not be considered wastes if handled properly.Short half life (200 years and down) many of these have industrial or medical uses. Proper separation would eliminate those from the waste too, leaving much less waste volume to deal with.
How does your stomach process?
The stomach breaks down food mechanically and also produces chemicals for digestion. Most of the nutrients broken down in digestion are absorbed by the small intestine In the large intestine, water and minerals are absorbed and waste material is stored. Solid waste is eliminated through the rectum.
What is bad about nuclear powerplant?
many things, nuclear waste is toxic and mutating plus doesn't break down and nuclear energy also produces tonnes upon tonnes on green house gas emissions. The reason why so many countries use it is because it's cheap.
