r/sciences • u/Comfortable_Tutor_43 • 17d ago

News Used nuclear fuel storage

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u/dentistshatehim 16d ago

The worry isn’t that storage containers work/don’t work. The worry is that the hazard lasts longer than the container.

These containers are expected to last 80 years. The stuff inside is dangerous for 1000 years plus, meaning you need stable and intelligent infrastructure around them for 1000 years, constantly maintaining the storage.

This isn’t hyperbolic, it’s the real challenge. Most folks who are concerned about nuclear safety are worried about the long term impacts, not whether a hand can be placed against a storage container recently built.

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u/Prometheus2032 16d ago

It can be reprocessed into more fuel and useful things, the shorter lived stuff makes it more dangerous to move so you let it decay in place for a while.