Low level And High Level Nuclear Waste: Low level And High Level

Low Level Waste Is Any Slightly Radioactive Trash Whenever radioactive materials are used, they create waste with low levels of radioactivity. This waste usually looks like ordinary trash. Anything that’s become even slightly radioactive—usually by coming in contact with radioactive materials—is considered low-level waste.

Biomedical Research Uses Radioactive Materials Biomedical research—the building blocks in the research for cures for cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and other diseases—is a good example. Radioactive materials are the most effective tool for labeling molecules and tracing them throughout the metabolic process.

Gene Mapping Uses Radioactive Materials Radioactive materials were used at The Johns Hopkins University to discover the genes that predict colon cancer. This will permit early identification of high-risk individuals. Radioactive materials can give scientists “snapshots” of a cell’s DNA, allowing researchers to accurately map the DNA source.

FDA Drug Testing Uses Radioactive Materials Over 80% of all new drugs are tested with radioactive materials before they are approved as safe and effective by the Food and Drug Administration.

Consumer Products Use Radioactive Materials Smoke Detectors use Radioactive Americium-241 Alpha emitter - Half life = 432 years! Many consumer products also require radioactive materials. For example, many smoke detectors—installed in 90 percent of U.S. homes—rely on a tiny radioactive source to sound the alarm when they sense fire.

Applying Nonstick Coating to Pans Requires Radiation Nonstick pans are treated with radiation to ensure that the plastic coating will stick to the surface. This process, however, doesn’t make the pan—or the food—radioactive.

Nuclear Power Plants Need Radioactive Materials America has more than 100 nuclear power plants, supplying one-fifth of America’s electricity without air or water pollution. Here, too, radioactive materials are essential.

Low Level Waste Is Separated and Disposed of Safely It includes protective clothing from nuclear power plants or laboratories, nuclear power plant hardware, or filters and tools that have picked up some radioactivity. Workers are trained to dispose of their waste in special low-level waste containers, where it’s handled safely and kept segregated from noncontaminated objects. Trash Is Sorted—Green Is Clean

Low-Level Waste Is Packaged for Disposal After collection and segregation, the remaining low-level waste is packaged for processing and or disposal. For lower activity waste, 55-gallon drums or similar strong, tight packages are used. Low-level waste sent for disposal must be in a solid form. Liquids are strictly prohibited at low-level waste disposal sites.

Low-Level Waste Is Shipped In Specially Designed Containers Some low-level waste, such as by-products of water purification processes from nuclear power plants, can contain higher concentrations of radioactivity. This waste must be placed within specially designed transport containers for shipment to the disposal facility. These containers are designed with thick steel or lead shielding to contain the radiation so they can be safely shipped along public highways.

Incinerators Dispose of Some Low-Level Waste Two large industrial incinerators are licensed in the United States for reducing paper, plastic, wood, and other combustible low-level waste to a stable, compactable ash. This process reduces the volume of the waste by 99.9%. In addition, the resulting inorganic ash provides a safer form of disposal because it is much less likely to undergo further chemical reaction.

Low-Level Waste Is Compacted to 25% Original Volume This hydraulic press, called a “supercompactor,” can crush a drum of waste to resemble a hockey puck—a 75% volume reduction.

Large Components Are Moved by Train Low-level waste also includes large components, retired from operating or decommissioning nuclear power plants. These components are often transported to the low-level waste disposal site by train.

Large Components Are Moved by Barge Large components, retired from operating or decommissioning nuclear power plants, also may be transported by special barge to the low-level waste disposal site.

Large Components at the Site Are Staged for Disposal Once the large components reach the site, they are conveyed to the low-level waste disposal trench by a special transport and staged for disposal.

Barnwell Disposal Site in S.C. At the Barnwell low-level waste disposal site in South Carolina, Class A low-level waste packages are inspected and then placed inside specially designed concrete over packs.

Congress Is Preparing for New Future Disposal Sites While our low-level waste disposal needs are currently being met, the future is uncertain. In 1980, Congress passed a law to encourage the development of new disposal sites.

U.S. Low-Level Waste Disposal Compacts Most states responded by organizing into compacts. The idea is that several states would share a disposal site.

Future Disposal Sites Will Use Technology to Maximize Safety Although no new sites have opened yet, here’s how one might look. The new sites will use state-of-the-art design and technology. They will embody all the safety lessons that have been learned in nearly 35 years of low-level waste disposal.

Our Families Depend on the Benefits of Radioactive Materials We must continue to make progress toward opening new disposal facilities. That way, we will make sure we keep available to us the benefits of radioactive materials. Our families depend on them for their health, safety, convenience and quality of life.

High Level Radioactive Waste

Fuel Rods Filled With Pellets Are Grouped Into Fuel Assemblies Nuclear plants are fueled by small, ceramic-coated pellets of uranium, about the size of the tip of your little finger. These are placed end-to-end inside tubes, made of zirconium alloy, called fuel rods. The rods are grouped together into fuel assemblies, about 10 inches square and 12 feet long. The reactor core contains 150 to 300 of these fuel assemblies.

Fuel Assemblies Cool Temporarily in Used Fuel Pools The removed fuel assemblies are immediately placed in used fuel pools, where they cool under water for many years and become less radioactive. But used fuel pools were not intended as permanent storage. The U.S. Department of Energy is supposed to build a permanent underground storage facility for used fuel from nuclear power plants and high-level radioactive waste from defense programs.

52 Plants Will Run Out of Used Fuel Storage by 2005 Some plants have already run out of room in their used fuel pools and need to build additional temporary dry storage facilities, consisting of containers stored above-ground on site. By 2005, 52 plants will have run out of fuel storage capacity. The blue circles indicate operating nuclear power plants. The red circles indicate plants where used fuel pools will be full by 2005. =Nuclear Power Plants =Plants that will run out of storage by 2005

Temporary Dry Storage On Site Twenty plants have built their own temporary storage on site. The used fuel is placed in containers of rugged steel or steel-reinforced concrete, with walls up to 35 inches thick. Containers are tested for safety. The containers are stored aboveground, on reinforced concrete pads or inside steel reinforced concrete bunkers.

Transportation Containers Are Strong and Safe The used fuel will be placed in specially designed transportation containers. These rugged containers are fitted with additional protective materials that help absorb the impact, in the unlikely event of an accident. Designs for these containers must be approved by the NRC.

Transportation Casks Have Been Tested Transportation canisters have been subjected to extreme accident conditions without breaking open. The testing was conducted by Sandia National Laboratory

Container Loaded on a Truck… For example, the containers (red object on the side) were loaded on a truck…

… And Crashed at 80 MPH into a Concrete Wall …and deliberately crashed at 80 miles per hour into a 700-ton concrete wall.

Container Broadsided by Locomotive Traveling at 80 MPH The containers were broadsided by a 120-ton locomotive traveling at 80 miles per hour.

Containers Survived Incineration Tests They withstood burning for 90 minutes in a pool of jet fuel at more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. These tests are more serious than any accidents they are ever likely to face.

Containers Passed Every Test In all cases, the transportation containers would have kept their radioactive cargo locked safely inside with no release of radiation.

Yucca Mountain Being Considered As Disposal Site The Department of Energy is completing a scientific investigation to find a suitable location for permanent, underground disposal of used fuel. The site that’s been studied for two decades is Yucca Mountain in Nevada—an arid, virtually unpopulated region 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

Seven Miles of Tunnels Built in Yucca Mountain The Energy Department has bored seven miles of tunnels through Yucca Mountain. These tunnels have become the world’s largest underground research laboratory, which has enabled scientists to evaluate geologic and hydrologic conditions.

President Recommends Yucca Mountain President Bush has recommended congress proceed with the facility at Yucca Mountain.