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Is Nuclear Waste Disposal Safe?July 12, 2006
I chose to research the disposal of nuclear waste because I feel that it is important for the environment that nuclear waste be disposed properly. I thought it would be interesting to learn about how they did this, and to see if it really is environment-friendly.
I found my information go going to www.google.com and looking up "Nuclear Waste." One website that I found helpful was http://www.nwtrb.gov/, which is the site for the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. I also found information by going to the Sierra Club homepage, (www.sierraclub.org) and searching "nuclear waste."
Nuclear waste is the type of waste that results from the use and production of nuclear materials. Nuclear waste can be solid, gas, or liquid waste that is radioactive. There are two types of nuclear waste; low-level waste and high-level waste. Low-level waste is made up of items that have been exposed to neuron radiation and become radioactive. Low-level waste usually comes from medical facilities. High-level waste is made up of materials that remain after the reprocessing of used fuel.
Low-level waste usually includes syringes, injection needles, and laboratory animal carcasses. This is because many items used in medical facilities or laboratories have been contaminated with radioactive material. Low-level waste is usually kept on the same site, until there is enough to be shipped to the low-level waste disposal site, or until the radioactivity has decayed and it can be thrown away as trash. Nuclear weapons, nuclear power reactors, and the Department of Energy's defense reprocessing programs produce a large amount of high-level waste. These wastes are very radioactive, and they have to be handled carefully. They must be stored for a long time and kept out of harm's way because the only way the waste can become harmless is by decay, which could take thousands of years. Although this method seems to be working, this is not a permanent way to rid of the waste.
I learned that nuclear waste is being stored in a safe and environmental-friendly manner. Although this is good, I think that scientists should find a way to dispose of the waste, so that there is absolutely no chance that it can affect anyone.
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