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f We're good chemists! (Click here to reply)
Thu Oct 21 15:55:58 EDT 1999 , Drew, Tri, Kaplan
What happens to all the radioactive waste that is produced from nuclear power plants?

Posted from out200-46.sdcoe.k12.ca.us.

Replies:

1 (Click here to reply) Sun Jan 2 15:21:21 EST 2000 , Karl Johanson (karljohanson@home.com)

On Thu Oct 21 15:55:58 EDT 1999, Drew, Tri, Kaplan said:
>What happens to all the radioactive waste that is produced from nuclear power plants?
>
When spent fuel rods are removed from a reactor they are stored in large pools of water. Water removes the heat they produce from decay and it acts as a very effective radiation screen.

In a few days the rate of radiation from the fuel rods delines several times. In 10 years tha radiation emitted is far less than 1% of what it was when the fuel rods first came out of the reactor.

Some plans have been made to bury spent nuclear fuel under ground in corrosion resistant containers, in areas with very low ground water motion. Some people are concerned that this won't be an adequate solution, so the spent fuel is accumulating in storage ponds.

Spent fuel produced in natural nuclear reactors in Gabon Africa barely migrated through the roack it was produced in. Compounds such as plutonium, in spent nuclear fuel tend to have a chemical affinity for many types of rock. As well, plutonium is very dence, so if it did escape it's multilayer container and disolve in ground water (unlikely as it's less soluable than sand) and it didn't chemically attach to the rocks it's buried in, it would likely move downwards rather than upward due to it's density.

As well, plutonium is no where near as dangerous as some have suggested. Persons exposed to significant amounts of plutonium have lived long healthy lives. This doesn't mean it should be trifled with, it means we shouldn't believe the silly claims that one pound of it will kill everyone on Earth.

Some claim that burying the spent fuel would be wasteful as there are many usable isotopes in the spent fuel. Some could be used as fuel in other reactors, some could be used for radio-medical procedures, some could be used to sterilize medical intruments etc. These people argue that recycling is better than disposing.

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f	We're good chemists! (Click here to reply)	Thu Oct 21 15:55:58 EDT 1999 , Drew, Tri, Kaplan
	What happens to all the radioactive waste that is produced from nuclear power plants?
	Posted from out200-46.sdcoe.k12.ca.us.

1	(Click here to reply)	Sun Jan 2 15:21:21 EST 2000 , Karl Johanson (karljohanson@home.com)
	On Thu Oct 21 15:55:58 EDT 1999, Drew, Tri, Kaplan said: >What happens to all the radioactive waste that is produced from nuclear power plants? > When spent fuel rods are removed from a reactor they are stored in large pools of water. Water removes the heat they produce from decay and it acts as a very effective radiation screen. In a few days the rate of radiation from the fuel rods delines several times. In 10 years tha radiation emitted is far less than 1% of what it was when the fuel rods first came out of the reactor. Some plans have been made to bury spent nuclear fuel under ground in corrosion resistant containers, in areas with very low ground water motion. Some people are concerned that this won't be an adequate solution, so the spent fuel is accumulating in storage ponds. Spent fuel produced in natural nuclear reactors in Gabon Africa barely migrated through the roack it was produced in. Compounds such as plutonium, in spent nuclear fuel tend to have a chemical affinity for many types of rock. As well, plutonium is very dence, so if it did escape it's multilayer container and disolve in ground water (unlikely as it's less soluable than sand) and it didn't chemically attach to the rocks it's buried in, it would likely move downwards rather than upward due to it's density. As well, plutonium is no where near as dangerous as some have suggested. Persons exposed to significant amounts of plutonium have lived long healthy lives. This doesn't mean it should be trifled with, it means we shouldn't believe the silly claims that one pound of it will kill everyone on Earth. Some claim that burying the spent fuel would be wasteful as there are many usable isotopes in the spent fuel. Some could be used as fuel in other reactors, some could be used for radio-medical procedures, some could be used to sterilize medical intruments etc. These people argue that recycling is better than disposing.
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