KNOW YOUR NUCLEAR WASTE

Not all types of nuclear waste are equally dangerous. Here are three of them

LOW-LEVEL WASTE FORM

Produced by hospitals, industry and at nuclear energy sites, this includes paper, rags, tools and clothing.

STORAGE METHOD

This is pressed into a steel drum and kept underground in trenches or concrete vaults, but it can still be stored fairly near the surface.

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL WASTE FORM

Fuel rod cladding, contaminated equipment and radioactive sludge that requires shielding.

STORAGE METHOD

This is pressed into stainless-steel containers and encased in concrete, and is often stored in facilities similar to those used for low-level waste.

HIGH-LEVEL WASTE FORM

Fuel rods from reactors and the waste left over after reprocessing them to reclaim radioactive uranium-235.

STORAGE METHOD

This highly radioactive material is mixed with melted glass, then poured into stainless-steel containers to solidify. Containers are buried up to 1,000 metres underground.