Questions about Nuclear waste?

Question

I really need to find this stuff out, but I can't find it anywhere!

a) How is low-level waste usually disposed of?

b) Before HIGH level nuclear waste is buried, what is done to it?

how long does high level nuclear waste stay reactive for anyway???

Any Nuclear physicists or anyone who knows these Qs?

Answer 1

Low level waste is compacted, packed in drums, then into ISO containers and stored at Drigg in Cumbria.

High level waste is stored until it decays enough to be worked on. Then, either it is reprocessed to get more use out of it or it is vitrified (turned into glass). Once vitrified nothing can leech out so it is safe for burial. As far as I know we aren't burying it at the moment, just storing the high level waste in core ponds where we can keep an eye on it.

Yes we do re-process waste for other countries. but after re-processing they get it all back again so we don't store it for anyone else.

90% of the activity of HLW will decay away over thirty years or so, but there will still be a significant amount of activity for thousands of years.

Answer 2

search for Sellafield,

there will be loads on nuclear disposal there.

is is on the west coast, we get paid for deposing other country's nuclear waist there, i went, its quite interesting.

Answer 3

i think they burry it under water, it isn't very reactive when they do it.