Nuclear Energy : Waste Disposal
Nuclear Energy is a very effective and efficient source of power, but like all other industries the creation of electricity produces waste products. These wastes must be handled with a great amount of care to prevent human injuries and minimize the negative impact on the environment. Though nuclear waste has gotten a very negative reputation, the nuclear energy industry is the only in that takes full responsibility for the clean up of such wastes, a factor that is of consideration due to the tab picked up by the customers. Nuclear power is defined as a source that creates a very substantial amount of energy from a rather small amount of fuel consumption. In nuclear power, however, the amount of waste produced is relatively small. The largest problem is that the waste that is produced is radioactive, sometimes extremely radioactive, requiring a great deal of care to manage the waste. Radioactivity is a natural occurring process of particular state of elements called isotopes. It is true that most isotopes are not radioactive, but nuclear energy created isotopes are highly radioactive. Three classifications of radioactivity are given: low, medium, and high-level wastes. The type and amount of radioactivity present determ
2 million tones of black coal per year. This waste from the operation of a reactor for one year fills nearly twelve canisters, each having dimensions of 1. A typical reactor uses around 25 tons of uranium a year, corresponding to 50,00 tons of ore to be mined. After a period of around one thousand years the radioactivity would return to a similar state as the ore from which it was produced. Low-level waste is not considered dangerous to handle, but is not to be considered as "normal" waste. Radioactivity of the isotopes decreases as time passes and the isotopes decay into a safe non-radioactive form. Radioactive wastes are created in all parts of the nuclear fuel cycle, the process of converting nuclear materials into electricity. This requires the waste to be stored in cooling ponds or dry concrete structures for at least this amount of time. Most often it is solidified in concrete or bitumen for disposal and short-lived isotopes are buried. In its state it generates a sizable amount of heat and requires constant cooling. However in the present, the waste is controlled to a point where it is naturally allowed to decay, allowing it to return to a stable state. More than 99% of the radioactivity produced during the fission reaction is retained in the fuel rods. Amazingly 97% of the spent fuel is capable of being recycled. The rest of the cycle is known as the "back end.
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