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in the U.S it is around $96bn and in England it is about £56bn. you have to bury it deep in the ground because it is not bio-degradable and remains active for thousands of years. there is still the off chance that in the ground it can reacts with something and cause an explosion or release of harmful chemicals that come upwards so that crops and harvests contain those chemicals and then insects eat them and then other animals eat that insect and then we eat that animal and so on...
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Wiki User
∙ 15y agoAs there are no approved long term stores yet, there can be no realistic figures.
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How do you dispose of medium level nuclear waste?
The problem is two fold here. The waste from nuclear sites is plentiful only because of foolish guidelines. For example water leaving a power plant can not have as much background radiation as it does when entering in some cases. High level waste we all agree is an issue. Low level waste is not an ssue, but there is this grey area of medium level waste. The simplest method would be to put this waste into barrels and bury it in New Mexico or other solid areas. One interesting method that I was presented with by a passenger on a recent flight was this. We do not actually make radioactive material, we concentrate it. If we take three toms of dirt out of a half ounce of radioactive material, why not mix the material back into the stuff and fill the mine back up with it? No new amounts of radioactive material would be added to the area and the concentrations would be the same! How does one argue this?
Does fusion create large amounts of radioactive waste?
True. If fusion can be made to work in manmade equipment, for power production, (and this is not certain), there should be much less radioactive waste than for fission reactors. The product of the fusion, helium, is harmless. The engineering details of such a plant have not been established, but the energy produced will presumably be extracted from materials surrounding the reaction chamber which absorb the neutrons produced, so these materials will become irradiated and radioactive. Whether the structure will remain for the life of the plant or perhaps neutron absorbing materials have to be replenished from time to time is unknown, but obviously there will be some radioactive waste to be dealt with.
How do you dispose of high level nuclear waste?
Unfortunately for humankind, the answer is, as yet, not known.
Why is it difficult to dispose of radioactive wastes?
The concern is that no matter where you put radioactive wastes, or how you contain them, they may leak out at some future time, and may dissolve in ground water and be carried away to a point where people will become exposed to them, which is a health risk since radiation is a cause of cancer. Most garbage is not as dangerous. Rotting organic matter is nasty and smelly, and can carry dangerous germs, but it is going to eventually be consumed by bacteria and other decay organisms, and it will effectively be recycled into the ecosphere. Plastic hangs around for a long time and does not recycle easily, but it isn't toxic, either. There are also various other forms of toxic waste, some of which are also very dangerous, but they can be chemically treated to make them non-toxic (or less toxic), whereas radioactive waste is going to remain radioactive for a long time, centuries at least, and in some cases much longer than that (different isotopes have different half lives).
Why don't we send our nuclear waste into space?
If you look at the history of space missions, you will see they do not all make it. Sooner or later a launch would fail, with the waste be distributed randomly back to Earth. This would potentially make a mess from which we would not easily recover.
How much does it cost to dispose of nuclear waste?
Depending on where it is stored it could cause major pollution problems or even deaths.
How do paramecium get rid of waste?
They have anal pores that dispose of waste.
How much does it cost dispose of dead cat at vets?
The cost to dispose of a dead cat depends on the Vets office. Typically, it will cost between $150 and $200.
How much radioactive waste is known to be in the Irish Sea?
138,254 tonnes
How much does it cost to dispose of a tire?
The place you buy a new tire will dispose of the old tire for free.
How much does a PowerPoint cost?
So much waste of money
Can you get power from the radioactive element Xenon?
xenon is usually a waste product of nuclear reactors and although has power not that much
How do you dispose of medium level nuclear waste?
The problem is two fold here. The waste from nuclear sites is plentiful only because of foolish guidelines. For example water leaving a power plant can not have as much background radiation as it does when entering in some cases. High level waste we all agree is an issue. Low level waste is not an ssue, but there is this grey area of medium level waste. The simplest method would be to put this waste into barrels and bury it in New Mexico or other solid areas. One interesting method that I was presented with by a passenger on a recent flight was this. We do not actually make radioactive material, we concentrate it. If we take three toms of dirt out of a half ounce of radioactive material, why not mix the material back into the stuff and fill the mine back up with it? No new amounts of radioactive material would be added to the area and the concentrations would be the same! How does one argue this?
How much does it cost to remove cobalt?
The removal of cobalt can cost from a little to a lot, depending on what it is to be removed from and in what form it is present. A small block of it sitting on a table can be picked up and carried away. Powdered cobalt scattered in a deep-pile rug can present other problems. And this is non-radioactive cobalt. If the cobalt that needs to be removed is radioactive, there are a ton of complicated proceedures to do that. Sometimes things contaminated with radioactive material cannot be recovered and must be disposed of whole in a radioactive waste disposal site. Links are provided.
How much does it cost to send nuclear waste to sun?
This process is impossible.
Why should you ship radioactive waste into space?
It should not be shipped out to space. It would be too expensive. There are thousands of tons of radioactive waste being stored all over the world. It would not be good to put it in orbit, since it might return to Earth for what ever reason. To boost so much weight into escape velocities would cost billion or trillions of dollars. It is much better to develop safe ways to store the waste in ways that will keep it safe for 100s of thousands of years. The facts are simple: # Radioactive waste is a huge problem. # Accidents happen. # It is not just going to go away. # Safe storage methods must be found before unscrupulous people start dumping it into the environment to the detriment of the whole ecosystem.
Why isnt more waste recycled?
The cost of recycling and the cost of the facilities is too much money. The waste we recycle is a heavy cost along with vans,workers and machinery. If more waste was to be recycled then further reccesion would be in place
