Radioactive Waste (Oxford AQA IGCSE Physics)
Revision Note
Radioactive Waste
The products formed during nuclear reactions may also be radioactive
Some of these products may have a long half-life and so will remain radioactive for long periods of time
The biggest problem associated with using nuclear power for generating electricity is the waste that it produces
This is an important factor which influences the use of nuclear power
The waste comprises of the unusable fission products from the fission of uranium-235, plutonium-239, or from spent fuel rods
This is because each fission of a uranium-235 or plutonium-239 nucleus results in two smaller nuclei being produced
Unusable fission products are by far the most dangerous type of waste as they will remain radioactive for thousands of years due to their long half-life
These smaller (daughter) nuclei are both highly radioactive – more radioactive, in fact than the original fuel
As well as being highly radioactive, the spent fuel roads are extremely hot and must be handled and stored much more carefully than the other types of waste
Whilst the amount of waste produced (relative to the amount of energy generated) is fairly small, the waste is extremely dangerous
Therefore, the waste must be stored underground till it is no longer harmful
Storing nuclear waste underground
Chernobyl nuclear disaster
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is in Ukraine
In 1986 an incident at the plant caused an explosion
The explosion occurred during a safety test in which the control rods were removed
A large amount of radioactive material was released from the plant and went into the air
Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated from the surrounding area to protect them from being contaminated
An exclusion zone of around 2,600 square kilometres is still in place around the power plant
This is because the level of radiation in the area is still very high
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