Abstract
Electricity production from nuclear power does not emit greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide into the air. However, it generates radioactive wastes in solid, liquid, and gaseous forms that can contaminate the environment and create a hazard for people’s health if not properly controlled and managed. Therefore, radioactive wastes must be handled in a safe way to protect people and the environment. Various types of radioactive waste exist and proper disposal depends on the properties of the waste. This chapter focuses on nuclear waste generation, handling, storage and disposal. It first gives the classification of nuclear wastes according to their radioactive content and half-life, making comparisons with other hazardous waste and waste from other sources of electricity generation. Then, it illustrates the typical composition of nuclear spent fuel, the time evolution of its radioactivity, and the safe methods for its final disposal. Finally, it describes the studies in progress for significantly reducing the volume and radiotoxicity of nuclear wastes and for shortening the very long time for which they must be stored safely.
Keywords
- Nuclear Power Plant
- Radioactive Waste
- Fission Product
- Fuel Cycle
- Spend Fuel
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Notes
- 1.
Hazardous waste is a waste with properties that make it potentially dangerous or harmful to human health or the environment. The universe of hazardous wastes is large and diverse: they can be liquids, solids, or contained gases, and can be the by-products of manufacturing processes, discarded used materials, or discarded unused commercial products, such as cleaning fluids (solvents) or pesticides. In regulatory terms, a hazardous waste is a waste that exhibits one of the following four characteristics—ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity.
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De Sanctis, E., Monti, S., Ripani, M. (2016). Management of Radioactive Waste. In: Energy from Nuclear Fission. Undergraduate Lecture Notes in Physics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30651-3_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30651-3_6
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