Nuclear Waste

By: Anna Gura

“… it would be morally wrong to commit future generations to the consequences of fission power on a massive scale unless it has been

demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that at least one method exists for the safe isolation of these wastes for the indefinite future.”

-Flowers Report

Here’s how it works…

World Electricity Source, 2005

Nuclear Fission

Nuclear Fusion

Binding Energy per Nucleon Curve

ITER

Nuclear Power Plants

Nuclear Power Plant

Conventional Power Plant

Radioactive Waste

Radiation Exposure

Prop:Unit:

t½Ma

Yield%

Q KeV

99Tc 0.211 6.1385 294126Sn 0.230 0.1084 405079Se 0.327 0.0447 15193Zr 1.53 5.4575 91135Cs 2.3 6.9110 269107Pd 6.5 1.2499 33129I 15.7 0.8410 194

Long Lived Fission Products

Prop:Unit:

t½

aYield

%Q *KeV

155Eu 4.76 .0803 252

85Kr 10.76 .2180 687

113mCd 14.1 .0008 31690Sr 28.9 4.505 2826

137Cs 30.23 6.337 1176

121mSn 43.9 .00005 390151Sm 90 .5314 77

Medium Lived Fission Products

Problem!!!!!

High Level

https://inlportal.inl.gov/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=3021&parentname=CommunityPage&parentid=4&mode=2&in_hi_userid=200&cached=true

Intermediate Level

Low Level Waste

“Today we stock containers of waste because currently scientists don't know how to reduce or eliminate the toxicity, but maybe in 100 years perhaps scientists will... Nuclear waste is an enormously difficult political problem which to date no country has solved. If France is unable to solve this issue, then I do not see how we can continue our nuclear program.”

• --- Claude Mandil