Waste Not, Want Not (Electricity): Managing Nuclear Waste

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This course reviews the source and status of nuclear waste, with a focus on nuclear waste from U.S. nuclear power plants. The discussion reviews how nuclear reactors produce waste, the complex storage and permanent disposal challenges, and the impact of nuclear waste issues on the potential future of the nuclear power industry. This course presented in article format continues the discussion started in the USGBC course GBCI: 0920020197 on nuclear power generation titled, “Power Me Up Scotty: Global Nuclear Options as Green Energy.”

What you will learn

• Define the types of nuclear waste

• Review the nuclear waste treatment options
• Discuss strategies for making nuclear waste safe for disposal
• Explain the primary global nuclear waste storage and disposal used today
• Review the safety considerations related to nuclear waste
• Discuss facts about spent nuclear fuel
• Review the major challenges associated with nuclear waste that influence public opinion
• Discuss the future of nuclear power given the issues concerning nuclear waste