If radioactive waste emits heat, why can’t we use it to produce energy?

Question

If radioactive waste emits heat, why can’t we use it to produce energy?

In: 132

Answer 1

Nuclear waste can be hot enough for a little heating, but not hot enough to justify potentially having a leak getting into running water. We have the capability to do it safely, but not necessarily so for ten thousand years, which is how long the long-lived nuclides will last.

Waste is hot enough to melt through containment for at least a year, and usually stays in storage under a pool of cooling water for about a decade.