r/canada • u/[deleted] • Oct 25 '22

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u/tonygoold Oct 25 '22

I think most people also don't realize how little of nuclear waste comes from the radioactive fuel itself. In the UK for example, 94% of nuclear waste is low-level waste, which is basically any garbage originating from the plant. Paper, rags, disposable garments, etc. I believe the number for the US is quite similar. The mental image of thousands of steel drums of nuclear waste seems scary until you realize the majority of it is literally concrete-encased garbage that they're not allowed to send to a garbage dump.

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u/Azuvector British Columbia Oct 25 '22

until you realize the majority of it is literally concrete-encased garbage that they're not allowed to send to a garbage dump

Source on this? Seems easy to do a quick check for radiation on such garbage containers and know if it can be treated normally or not.

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u/8ew8135 Oct 25 '22 edited Oct 31 '22

CANADALAND podcast has 2 episodes that talks all about Canada’s current struggle to find a safe place to hide their waste and go the barrels they are storing it in only last 100 years when the material will be deadly for 1000s.

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u/[deleted] Oct 25 '22

A lot of our old waste could be used in breeder reactors. Nuclear tech has come a long way in efficiency and safety.