NUCLEAR WASTE

Prepared by:

Susana Rivera-Joson

What is Nuclear

Nuclear energy is one of the many natural resources that we know how to turn into heat and electricity. It is, by far, the most energydense of all these natural resources.

Several facilities involved in the nuclear fuel cycle can be used to produce materials that could be used in nuclear weapons.

Bataan Nuclear Plant

The Philippine nuclear program started in 1958 with the creation of the Philippine Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) under Republic Act 2067. anti-nuclear protests in the late 1970s and 1980s. The project was criticised for being a potential threat to public health, especially since the plant was located in an earthquake zone. And because a volcano formation was found near the location of the plant.

What is Nuclear waste?

is the material that nuclear fuel becomes after it is used in a reactor. It looks exactly like the fuel that was loaded into the reactor -- assemblies of metal rods enclosing stacked-up ceramic pellets.

is the radioactive waste left over from nuclear reactors, nuclear research projects, and nuclear bomb production
divided into low, medium, and highlevel waste by the amount of radioactivity the waste produces

is

Radio Active
Radioactivity

arises naturally from the decay of particular forms of some elements, called isotopes. such ascarbon14, potassium-40, uranium-238 and thorium-232 occurring radioactive material (NORM)- largest source of nuclear waste

naturally

Waste Management

Waste Management

hazardous to most forms of life and the environment, and is regulated by government agencies in order to protect human health and the environment. and stored for a period of time until it no longer poses a hazard.

isolated

Three kinds of radiation

alpha radiation- cannot penetrate the skin and can be blocked out by a sheet of paper, but is dangerous in the lung beta radiation -can penetrate into the body but can be blocked out by a sheet of aluminium foil. gamma radiation- can go right through the body and requires several centimetres of lead or concrete, or a metre or so of water, to block it.

Types of radioactive waste (radwaste)

low-level wastes medium-level wastes

high-level

wastes

Low-level Waste

is generated from hospitals, laboratories and industry, as well as the nuclear fuel cycle. It comprises paper, rags, tools, clothing, filters etc. which contain small amounts of mostly short-lived radioactivity. may need to be stored for only hours, days, or months,

Intermediate-level Waste

It typically comprises resins, chemical sludges and reactor components, as well as contaminated materials from reactor decommissioning. contains higher amounts of radioactivity and may require special shielding Generally short-lived waste (mainly from reactors) is buried, but long-lived waste (from reprocessing nuclear fuel) is disposed of deep underground.

High-level Waste

may be the used fuel itself, or the principal waste separated from reprocessing this It is highly radioactive and often thermally hot and requires cooling

separated waste is vitrified by incorporating it into borosilicate (Pyrex) glass which is sealed inside stainless steel canisters for eventual disposal deep underground and must be stored for thousands of years

Hazards of radiation:
The

biological effects of radiation on the living cells are negligible in case of low levels repair mechanisms of the human body act against the damages caused by exposure to radiation.

The

Acute exposure
An

accidental single exposure to a very high dose of radiation for a short time period is called acute exposure.

The symptoms in this case are as follows

Fatigue
Fever Nausea,

and weakness

vomiting Changes in bone marrow Blood changes Damage to the blood vessels in the brain.