Why are new or unused nuclear fuel rods safe to handle but spent fuel rods are extremely radioactive?
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Nuclear fuel is nice because it doesn’t react until struck by a neutron. By controlling neutrons, we can turn the fuel ‘on’ and ‘off’.
If the isotopes were more naturally radioactive without the neutrons, they would be much rarer and much less effective as fuels.
However, these properties are relatively rare for heavy isotopes, and in fact most isotopes are radioactive. This means that the products of the reaction are mostly much more radioactive, with many of them decaying nearly instantly. Many of those that remain are still much more radioactive than the fuel naturally is.
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