Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. It is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear weapons reprocessing. [1]

This brochure gives you general information about radioactive waste, mainly focusing on waste generated by electricity production. Radioactive waste is also generated through various other sources using nuclear technology, such as health care or research.

There are three types of nuclear waste, classified according to their radioactivity: low-, intermediate-, and high-level. The vast majority of the waste (90% of total volume) is composed of only lightly-contaminated items, such as tools and work clothing, and …

2023年5月24日 · These uses generate nuclear waste, and this waste must be disposed of in safe and effective ways. There are three main types of nuclear waste—high-level, transuranic, and low-level waste—and each type must be disposed of …

2022年1月25日 · Used nuclear fuel may be treated as a resource or simply as waste. Nuclear waste is neither particularly hazardous nor hard to manage relative to other toxic industrial waste. Safe methods for the final disposal of high-level radioactive waste are technically proven; the international consensus is that geological disposal is the best option.

2024年12月28日 · Simply stated, nuclear or radioactive waste is the byproduct of nuclear reactors, fuel processing and reprocessing, weapon production, medical facilities, and research laboratories. However, the...

2020年12月16日 · Find the locations of low-level waste disposal facilities, high-level waste disposal facilities, and disposal facilities for waste incidental to reprocessing. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) does not regulate all sources of radioactivity; see Who Regulates Radioactive Materials and Radiation Exposure for details.

19 小时之前 · Waste from electricity generation The vast majority of nuclear waste in the U.S. is spent nuclear fuel from commercial nuclear power plants.

2024年11月7日 · The waste consists of contaminated equipment, debris, and soil from the manufacture and clean-up of atomic weapons. Located outside of Carlsbad, New Mexico, the WIPP accepts waste shipments from across the country and disposes of the waste in a mined salt repository approximately 2000 feet below the surface.

2024年9月30日 · Its aim is to provide safety through emplacement of waste in facilities designed for appropriate levels of containment and isolation. Such facilities are designed and maintained to encompass both natural and engineered barriers for adequate radiation protection of people and environment over long periods of