Radioactive waste, where does it go, and how is it managed

Anti-nuclear activists continue to raise this as one of the biggest concerns they have over nuclear energy. Yet there are 440 nuclear reactors around the world that are managing spent nuclear fuel, without reported environmental or health concerns.

The spent fuel is moved from the reactor into a cooling pond that absorbs latent heat from the spent fuel. It is then put into dry caskets for long term storage, or it is reprocessed. Reprocessing involves separating out the various components of the spent fuel into low, intermediate and high level waste, together with isotopes that can be re-used in mixed oxide fuel (MOX fuel). The decision to store or reprocess spent fuel is cost driven. Currently it is more cost effective to mine and process uranium ore, or to down-blend weapons stockpile uranium that has been depleted under US / Russian agreements, to reprocess as fuel.

Is there any real concern over radioactive waste from nuclear power stations? The track record of effective security and safeguards of radioactive materials from the nuclear power industry has been very tightly controlled, this includes block-chain tracking and independent monitoringby the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Coupled with this, deep repository storage is used for the long term storage of intermediate and high level waste.

The images we see of yellow bins with radiation signs on them are used to create a sense of fear, but they are typically used for low radiation level medical and industrial waste, clothing
and equipment, this has nothing to do with nuclear reactor fuel – but is excellent for fear mongering.