If nuclear is one of ways to obtain green energy, what are the byproducts of the experience and how do we sustainably rid ourselves of said byproducts safely?
In: Engineering
That’s an ongoing problem as more waste develops. From the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission)
> There are four categories of byproduct material:
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> 1. Radioactive material that results from the fissioning, or splitting apart, of enriched uranium or plutonium in nuclear reactors. Examples include cobalt-60, cesium-137 and iridium-192.
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> 2. Tailings or waste produced by processing uranium or thorium from ore.
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> 3. Certain processed radium-226 or material that becomes radioactive in a particle accelerator used for a commercial, medical or research activity. Examples include fluorine-18, cobalt-57 and iodine-123.
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> 4. A naturally occurring radioactive source that is processed to increase its concentration and that the Commission decides could pose a threat to people and the environment similar to that of radium-226.
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This gives us a few different things that need to happen. The waste from a nuclear reactor might be purified and reused, while waste from mining/the waste from that purification [might need to be buried](https://www.nrc.gov/waste/hlw-disposal/yucca-lic-app/photo-loc.html). It’s certainly a problem, but IMO, it’s overblown how bad it is, at least compared to everything else that we already do.
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