Nuclear plants produce waste while generating electricity, but it’s not glowing green goo like you see in some movies or The Simpsons.

What Is Nuclear Waste?

Nuclear waste is much different from what you might think.

• When most people talk about nuclear waste, they’re referring to fuel that’s been used in a reactor once. Most of the radioactivity associated with nuclear power remains contained in the fuel in which it was produced. This is why used fuel is classified as high-level radioactive waste. Nuclear fuel is used to produce electricity for about five years. Then, it’s removed and safely stored until a permanent disposal site becomes available. Nuclear plants also produce low-level radioactive waste which is safely managed and routinely disposed of at various sites around the country.
• It is a solid. Nuclear fuel is solid when it goes in a reactor and solid when it comes out. It is arranged in fuel assemblies: sets of sealed metal tubes that hold ceramic uranium pellets. The radioactive byproducts of nuclear reactions remain inside the fuel. No green goo anywhere.
• There is not that much of it. All of the used fuel ever produced by the commercial nuclear industry since the late 1950s would cover a whole football field to a height of approximately 10 yards. That might seem like a lot, but coal plants generate that same amount of waste every hour.
• It can still be used for energy. Used fuel has only exhausted part of the potential energy in the uranium pellets after five years in a reactor. Some countries like France reprocess and recycle nuclear fuel, extracting elements still capable of generating energy for use in new fuel and encasing the radioactive byproducts in solid glass logs for permanent disposal. The United States currently does not, but some advanced reactor designs in development would be able to run on used fuel. 

Is Nuclear Waste Handled Safely?

• Once removed from a reactor, used fuel assemblies initially cool down in a storage pool. The concrete and steel pool and the water shield workers from radioactivity.
• When cool enough that it no longer needs to be stored underwater—typically for 2 to 5 years after removal from the reactor—used fuel is transferred and stored in dry casks, which are large steel-reinforced concrete containers. These casks are designed for long term storage until a site is available for permanent disposal. They’re safe enough to walk up to and touch.
• The U.S. nuclear energy industry routinely transports used fuel. In fact, after 7,000 shipments total of used fuel by the worldwide nuclear industry since 1970, there have been no harmful releases of radioactivity, injuries or environmental damage.

What Happens to Nuclear Waste?

The nuclear industry handles nuclear waste safely and in compliance with the stringent requirements of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

• The NRC divides waste from nuclear plants into two categories: high-level and low-level. High-level waste is mostly used fuel. Low-level waste includes items like gloves, tools or machine parts that have been exposed to radioactive materials and makes up most of the volume of waste produced by plants.
•  Low-level radioactive waste is collected and transported safely to one of four disposal facilities in South Carolina, Washington, Utah or Texas. Some low-level waste can be stored at the plant until its stops being radioactive and is safe to be disposed of like normal trash.
• A permanent disposal site for high-level waste has been planned for Yucca Mountain, Nevada, since 1987. This proposal has been found to meet NRC’s and EPA’s stringent safety and environmental regulations.  Nevertheless, the project remains stalled by lack of funding from Congress. Whether it is at Yucca Mountain or some other location, DOE will transport and dispose of all U.S. commercial used fuel. All major nuclear countries in the world are pursuing similar disposal sites.  Finland is in the lead with a site licensed and under construction. Consolidated interim storage sites also have been proposed so that used fuel can be more efficiently managed until a disposal site becomes available.