Nuclear Reactor Waste & Bi-Products

When considering pollution outputs we are not only talking about gas emissions into the atmosphere, but also the bi-products left behind after the nuclear fuel is used for the production of energy. The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) defines a bi-product material as "radioactive material yielded in or made radioactive by exposure to the radiation incident to the process of producing or using special nuclear material." Such bi-product materials are regulated by the NRC under the 10 CFR act Part 30 which can be downloaded from the NRC website.

The NRC has the power to fine and/or terminate the operating licence of nuclear power plants that fail to comply with the regulations that it sets out such as the act given above.

Wastes from nuclear power stations are broken down into three categories. These are:

Low-level wastes (LLW)

LLW includes radioactively contaminated protective clothing, tools, filters, and many other items.

These wastes are comparatively easy to dispose of as the level of radioactivity and the half life of the radioactive isotopes in low-level waste is relatively small. This means that the waste can be stored for a period of time, around 10 to 50 years, allowing for most of the radioactive isotopes to decay. After such a period of time the waste can then be disposed of a normal refuse.

The above figure shows the levels of low-level radioactive waste, from nuclear power stations, which were disposed of over a number of years in the U.S.A. This graph was also taken from the NRC website.

High-level wastes (HLW)

HLW is irradiated or used nuclear reactor fuel.

It is stated by the NRC that all high-level waste from nuclear power plants is to be disposed of by burial. This means that all waste is disposed of underground, in what is known as a deep geologic repository.

Although this doesn't seem to have any immediate environmental affects, it will not be known for a long period of time (possibly several hundreds of years) the true impact that this may have on the environment.

Uranium mill tailings

Uranium mill tailings are the residues remaining after the processing of natural ore to extract uranium and thorium

More information on the types of wastes and their disposal can be found in the Fuel and Waste section of this web site.