The Waste Byproducts of Nuclear Energy

Every existing thing comes with an argument about it's pros and cons and nuclear energy is no exception. Specifically, this post will focus on the concerns regarding nuclear energy and the radioactive waste byproducts.

Nuclear energy, although it is a source of clean energy and is considered a sustainable energy source, the current way of producing nuclear energy results in a waste byproduct that is extremely radioactive. Now, this wouldn't be too much of a concern if there was a way to make this waste non-radioactive or destroy it but unfortunately that is not an option, although scientists are currently exploring options to see if it is possible. This leaves nuclear energy production plants and the government with only one option: storing it.

There are a couple different ways of storing nuclear waste, each coming with their own concerns. One of these ways is through the process of vitrification. Nuclear waste can come in the form of a sludge mixed with liquid and sediment, the process of vitrification involves taking that waste, melting down glass and combining it with the glass to create a solid form of waste. The glass form prevents the substance from leaking into the environment and also has somewhat of a shielding against radioactivity. This glass is then taken and and stored in steel canisters which seems like a pretty solid idea, however there are still other factors at play. As you may recall, radioactivity lasts for a really long time and there is a chance that when the steel canisters eventually degrade, if the glass composition isn't the most secure, than there is a chance that the radioactive waste could contaminate it's surroundings.

Another option is through wet or dry storage which mainly store used nuclear fuel rods. Wet storage is the process in which they store the rods submerged in engineered storage pools. The water acts like a shield and cooling medium and is the most common way of storing high level nuclear waste, however, it does require a lot of maintenance. Dry storage is done with rods that have been cooled for a period of time, (usually 1-2 years), and then stored in casks which are stored in concrete areas usually on site. This normally is only done when there is no longer space available for wet storage.

Overall, there are three options with nuclear waste: to recycle, bury, or store temporarily in hopes of eventually recycling. While recycling is possible, (a lot of the nuclear waste can be used again for more energy), the process would require transportation which could lead to opportunities for hijacking and stealing of fuel to make nuclear weapons. So while the U.S. currently does not engage in nuclear waste recycling, there is still some research being incentivized as a possibility to look into.

As mentioned prior, there have been concerns about the waste byproducts contaminating resources such as land and water due to the uncertainty of the storage methods. Another big concern is about the land being used to store the waste and what might happen if we run out of viable land to store the waste in. Currently, there are no permanent disposal sites so most of the nuclear waste that gets generated is being stored on site where it was created. This uncertainty and fear from prior historical events such as Chernobyl have only left doubts in nuclear energy and only further serves as a dissuasion against nuclear energy. Figuring out a way for nuclear waste disposal may be the key to opening up the public to nuclear energy and gaining a more positive reception towards nuclear energy as a sustainable green energy source.