where Spent fuel from nuclear power goes??

Question

I've heared that the nuclear power is CLEAN
But I know that its spent fuel is DANGROUS for decades

so where are those dangrous stuff are kept???

but there is animals/inscts/..... that lives in this desert(s) or not ?

What if a country want to have nuclear power and it had no deserts nor oceans so what ?

Throw it anywhere ?

How any one say the nuclear power is CLEAN ?

Answer 1

Good question.

There are two routes you can take. The first is to close the nuclear fuel cycle. This involves reprocessing and reusing the fuel. Most of what cannot be reused is either nonradioactive or can be destroyed by some other means. The fraction of SNF that does not fall into either of these categories is less than a fraction of a percent. Typically these elements have a much shorter half life (decades not ice ages) and can easily be stored safely. France has closed their fuel cycle and all of their waste fits into a room the size of a gym.

The other route is to throw the waste into a geological repository and let it be. Its not as dangerous as many people make is seem, but it is stupid and wasteful.

Right now in the US we do nothing. The government won't let the industry reprocess, and the use of Yucca Mountain it being protested. This means that all the spent nuclear fuel is being stored where is was created. This is not a lasting solution.

Answer 2

Spent nuclear fuel is still radioactive, and thus called "hot". When a plant has used its fuel it has a couple of options in how to store it. The most common storage technique that I know of is to immerse the radioactive material in a large pool of water. The water then absorbs the radioactive particles and "cools" the material. This keeps the radiation from escaping and is a very effective way to store radioactive material. If a nuclear power plant is operated correctly and the waste is stored properly, it can be a very clean and efficient source of energy.

Answer 3

My impression is that alot of it is near the site of the nuclear power station, and they are trying to figure out ways to put it on Indian land out in the dessert.

Things have a way of comming back full circle, but I think they intend on making the storage containers work for about a lifetime, so they won't be around to see the results.

Answer 4

They keep that information VERY quiet. I heard that there is a storage facility in the desert.

Answer 5

buried in concrete