Radiation

Types of Radiation

http://www.uic.com.au/wast.htm

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 Types of Radiation
• Alpha radiation
– Cannot penetrate the skin
– Blocked out by a sheet of paper
• Beta radiation
– Can penetrate into the body
– Can be blocked out by a sheet of aluminum foil
• Gamma radiation
– Can go right through the body
– Requires several inches of lead or concrete, or a yard or
so of water, to block it.
• Neutron radiation
– Normally found only inside a nuclear reactor

http://www.uic.com.au/wast.htm

Nuclear Waste

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 Handling Nuclear Waste

• Waste Reprocessing
– Recondition for further use as fuel
• Waste Disposal
– Temporary storage
– Permanent disposal (usually burial)

Waste Disposal Funding

• Funded by power customers

• 0.1 cent per kWh
• About $18 billion collected to date
• About $6 billion has been spent
– Yucca Mountain, elsewhere

http://www.uic.com.au/wast.htm

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Spent Fuel Cooling Pool

http://www.uic.com.au/opinion6.html

Dry Storage Cask

http://www.uic.com.au/opinion6.html

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 http://library.thinkquest.org/17940/texts/nuclear_waste_storage/nuclear_waste_storage.html

Dry Cask Construction

http://www.nei.org/http://www.nei.org/index.asp?catnum=2&catid=84

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Dry Cask Durability

http://www.nei.org/http://www.nei.org/index.asp?catnum=2&catid=84