What is the
problem?
A product of the modern age
…
Waste products are a by-product of life. Biological organisms do it, societies do it, industries do it. The essential thing is to manage the wastes properly so that the environment, society and the population of today do not suffer because of the production of waste. Increasingly the future environmental impact of waste production is becoming an important consideration.
Radioactive waste is waste that contains radioactive material. It may share characteristics with other forms of waste product but the main distinguishing feature is that it contains radioactive material and radioactivity poses specific problems of its own.
Radioactive waste is classified according to the amount of radioactivity [Types of radioactive waste]. The amounts of the different types vary enormously in volume and radioactive content. Each can be dealt with in different ways. One important characteristic of radioactivity is that it cannot be destroyed. Another is that it will, left to its own devices, decay away to nothing if it is left alone for long enough. The problem is that whilst it is doing so it remains a potential health risk. Another problem is that the amount of time required for this can be very long (depending on the type of waste) and the timescales are outside what the human race has dealt with throughout history [Half-life and timescales].
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Radioactive materials are dangerous if: |
The main solution to managing
radioactive waste is therefore
isolation.
They need to be put somewhere where they are not disturbed for
long enough for them no longer to be
dangerous.
