Radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel

Thomas Nilsen/Bellona

Wherever a nuclear installation operates, be it a nuclear power plant or a reactor aboard a submarine, there will always be radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel (SNF) to safely contain―for generations. At present, no country has come up with a way of safely storing its radioactive waste for longer than 50 years, meaning all current measures are temporary. SNF contains long-live isotopes such as plutonium, caesium, californium and other “hot” products from burning uranium fuel which are nearly impossible to dispose of long term safely without harm to humans and the environment. Other forms of radwaste, like liquid radioactive waste from submarines, parts of decommissioned reactors and Radioistotope Thermoelectric Generators are equally had to dispose of. Russia takes radwaste from other countries for a cost, but it can do little more than store it. The safest method for radwaste and SNF disposal is in underground geologic repositories, but even countries that are pursing such projects have overrun costs and discovered hazards along the way.

ARTICLES
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house.gov/berman

[ 14.05.2008 ]
Bush submits US-Russian civilian nuclear pact to Congress – Congress unimpressed
Despite warnings from lawmakers that the United States’ recently signed civilian nuclear pact with Russia will face stiff opposition at their hands, President George Bush nonetheless submitted the deal Tuesday for Congressional review.
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Bellona archive

[ 16.11.2007 ]
Russia preparing fuel for shipment to Iran despite western concerns
NEW YORK - Russia gave on Friday the clearest indication yet that it was ready to send uranium to fuel Iran's first atomic power station, upping the stakes in a diplomatic crisis surrounding Tehran's nuclear programme.
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(photo: DOD)

[ 18.05.2007 ]
Use of depleted uranium gets thumbs down from military experts
BRUSSELS - A conference of scientists, military technical experts and armed forces brass met in Brussels this week to speak out against the controversial use of depleted uranium in modern weaponry, and concluded that the risks to military and civilian health outweigh its tactical benefit on the battlefield.
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NEWS
[ 02.10.2007 ]
G8 Global Partnership meetings in Murmansk

Murmansk region hosted several meetings on nuclear and radiation safety last week.

[ 15.09.2006 ]
British-funded nuke storage container built at Sevmash

The Sevemash plant in Russia’s Northwest city of Severodvinsk has produced its first TUK-120 spent nuclear fuel (SNF) storage container in a project financed by the British government, the Barents Observer reported. Sevmash is located in the Arkhangelsk Region.

[ 16.08.2006 ]
Russia takes back uranium fuel from Polish research reactor

Highly-enriched Russian-produced uranium has been successfully removed from Poland to Russia. As an ITAR-TASS correspondent was told by Rosatom (Federal Atomic Energy Agency), "in order to reduce the global nuclear threat, Russia and the USA have repatriated highly-enriched uranium from the Polish research reactor Maria".

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BLOGS
Posted 25.05.2007 in Vladimir Slivyak's blog

One day in the life of a shareholder, or how to beat the top exec of a major energy company

Every year since 1996, several railway trains leave the headquarters of the German branch of Urenco in Gronau heading toward the Russian Ural Mountains and Siberia. The trains carry so-called “uranium tailings” – a kind of radioactive waste generated during uranium reprocessing or enrichment. For years, environmentalists have been fighting this obvious, poorly disguised violation. For now, however, Russian prosecutors prefer to turn a blind eye to the “fruitful cooperation” between Urenco and Russia’s Tekhsnabexport.

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