Nuclear Power – Nuclear Energy
The splitting of Uranium atoms, in a process called fission, originates nuclear energy. This process releases energy used to make steam that consequently will produce electricity. Twenty percent of the electricity produced in the US comes from nuclear energy. There are currently more than 100 nuclear generating plants in the US.
Pollution Created by Nuclear Plants
Once the Uranium has been used, there are several things that are considered "nuclear waste." The containers, the machinery, the tools, the infrastructure inclusive, the radioactive materials left over, are all in the list of nuclear waste. How it is currently being disposed is a major problem for many countries. Although we know that eventually, the radioactivity will stop at some point, due to the decay of radioactive materials, it is impossible to avoid how to properly dispose the waste.
The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) has a classification for the waste as low level, incidental, high level and Uranium mill tailings. Protective clothing, tools, rags, filters, medical tubes and other items that have been exposed to radioactivity in the nuclear plant are considered as low-level waste.
Incidental waste refers to the byproducts obtained by processing spent nuclear fuel, solid and liquid waste byproducts containing significant amount of fission products. Irradiated or used nuclear reactor fuel is under the category of high level waste, while the residues left after the processing to extract Uranium are called Uranium mill tailing.
Although there is a tendency to do the appropriate disposal under the regulations managed by the USNRC, still the amount of nuclear waste keeps increasing. Cumulated waste keeps being stored without really knowing what to do with it. Meanwhile, environmentalists are looking for cleaner options of energy trying to minimize the impact in our environment.
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