As the title says; why can’t we just melt down the old fuel rods?
What would happen if we did melt them down?
Couldn’t we mix/contaminate them with another element to dilute the radioactive effects?
Most reactors work by heating water and turning turbines, why can’t we turn the spent fuel pools into a slow running reactors rather then using energy to keep them cool?
In: Physics
We do have some reactors that can use spent fuel, but it does get to the point where enough energy just simply isn’t produced. The other problem is that spent fuel needs stored somewhere where it can cool effectively and not spill radiation into the area. Fuel rods are dangerous to any living thing in their area. Risk plays a role in how we deal with them too. New reactors are able to use spent fuel though. That helps reduce some of the waste.
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