Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
somewhat radioactive. Examples include most tools and
protective clothing used by workers. These items are usually
burned or buried to dispose of them. Waste that is a bit more
radioactive needs to be guarded by shielding. In many cases,
such waste does not stay seriously radioactive very long.
Disposing of such waste often involves keeping it—enclosed in
concrete—in a storage area, or repository.
Some waste is very radioactive and can stay dangerous for
a long time. This high-level waste requires especially careful
handling and storage. Such waste includes spent nuclear
fuel and waste that is left over from the reprocessing of used
nuclear materials.
This dangerous nuclear waste has to be securely stored,
sealed away from any contact with people, for thousands of
years or more. The most dangerous waste is currently held in
At a nuclear plant in England, barrels containing radioactive waste are stored in a pool
where they are kept cool.
