Nuclear Energy

SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL AND ITS DISPOSAL ISSUES:

Nuclear has long been considered a great way to generate the power that lights and heats our
homes. It can generate electricity without greenhouse gas emissions. However, after a few terrible
disasters in Nuclear power plants around the world, people have become more and more aware
that, when not treated carefully, nuclear power poses rather a significant threat to our way of life.
Some of the problems faced during disposal of spent nuclear fuel are as follow:

1. Long Half Life:

The products of nuclear fission have long half lives, which means that they will continue to be
radioactive – and therefore hazardous- for many thousands of years. This means that, if anything
were to happen to the waste cylinders in which nuclear waste is stored, this material can be
extremely volatile and dangerous for many years to come. Since hazardous nuclear waste is often
not sent off to special locations to be stored, this means that it is relatively easy to find, and if
anyone with ill intent waaere to look for nuclear waste to serve unpleasant purposes, they may well
be able to find some and use it.

2. Storage:

Another problem with nuclear waste disposal that is still being discussed today is the issue of
storage. Many different storage methods have been discussed throughout history, with very few
being implemented because of the problematic nature of storing such hazardous material that will
remain radioactive for thousands of years. Amongst the suggestions that were considered as above
ground storage, ejection into space, ocean disposal and disposal into ice sheets.

3. Accidents:

Although most of the time a lot of emphasis is placed on the safe disposal of nuclear waste,
accidents do occur. Throughout history there have unfortunately been a number of examples of
times where radioactive material was not disposed of in the proper ways. This has resulted in a
number of disastrous situations, including nuclear waste being spread by dust storms into areas
that were populated by humans and animals and contaminated of water, whether ponds, rivers or
even the sea. These accidents can have disastrous knock on effects for the animals that reside in or
around these areas or that rely on the water of lakes or ponds to survive.

4. Scavenging:

A particularly bad problem in developing nations, people often go scavenging for abandoned
nuclear waste that is still radioactive. In some countries there is a market for these sorts of
Page | 1
 Nuclear Energy

scavenged goods, which means that people will willingly expose themselves to dangerous levels
of radiation in order to make money. Unfortunately, however, radioactive materials can be highly
volatile and cause a number of problems.Usually, people who scavenge these sorts of materials
will end up in hospital and may even die of problems related to or caused by the radioactive
materials. Unfortunately, once someone has been exposed to nuclear waste, they can then expose
other people who have not opted to go scavenging for nuclear waste to radioactive materials.

1. Transportation:

Transporting nuclear waste from power plants can occasionally result in problems. If poor shipping
casks are used for the containment of radioactive material, for instance, then a slight knock or
bump or even crash could cause the contents to spill and affect a wide radius. Despite all the
cautions that are put into place when transporting nuclear waste, accidents still occur and can have
a devastating effect on all those in the vicinity of the crash.

2. Health Effects:

The biggest concern is the negative effects that can have on the human body when exposed to
radiation. Long term effects to radiation can even cause cancer. It is interesting to know that we
are exposed to radiations naturally by living our lives that comes from the ground below us.
Radiation can cause changes in ‘DNA’ that ensures cell repair.

3. Expense:

If one of these accidents does occur, the cost of cleaning everything up and making everything
safe once again for people, animals and plants is very high. There is no simple or easy route when
trying to clean up spilled radioactive material: instead, it can take years to ensure that an area is
safe to live in or even to visit once again. In the case of very serious accidents, it may take many
tens of years until things start growing or living normally once again.

1. Spent Nuclear Fuel Disposal Issues

Spent nuclear fuel occasionally called used nuclear fuel or once nuclear fuel passed through
a nuclear reactor it is called spent fuel.

Nuclear reactors produce high level radioactive wastes which present a variety of problems
that must be considered for safe disposal. Some waste products will generate considerable heat as
they decay while others will remain intensely radioactive for very long time periods. Because of
these hazards, disposal regulations require isolation of the wastes from the public and the

Page | 2
 Nuclear Energy

environment for tens of thousands of years. Some of the most concerning byproducts from spent
fuel are Plutonium-239 (half-life 24,000 years), Technetium-99 (half-life 220,000 years), and
Iodine-129 (half-life 15.7 million years). Without a permanently safe location for these byproducts,
society will have to carry the burden of storing and guarding nuclear wastes for many centuries.
The biggest problem is how to keep radioactive waste in storage when there is nothing that could
be built that would be definitively safe until the waste becomes benign after hundreds of thousands
of years. A final high level waste deposit must be reliable, because the quantities of poison are
tremendous, and it must be permanently guarded which requires a society with stability that has
not yet been demonstrated by humankind. (Brett, 2011)

1.1.Dangers of Nuclear Waste Disposal

To dispose nuclear waste, it is stored safely into storage containers made up of steel then these
containers are placed inside the concrete cylinders. These layers provide protection from hazardous
radiations getting outside the environment so that it cannot cause any harm to the surrounding
atmosphere. This method is relatively cheap and easy and does not need any special transportation
to be stored in a place. There are number of dangers that surround a nuclear waste disposal some
of them are as follows:

 Costs of nuclear energy include the continued risk of reactor accidents and the dangers of
transporting nuclear fuel, but perhaps the biggest concern is how to deal with hazardous
nuclear waste, which can survive for hundreds of thousands of years.
 High-level waste is produced as part of the nuclear fuel process and needs to be considered
to avoid permanent damage to living organisms and the environment. These dangerous
byproducts remain intensely radioactive for a long time. For example, Pu-239 has a half-
life of 24,000 years, Tc-99 has a half-life of 220,000 years, and I-129 has a half-life of 15.7
million years.
 As a result of the hazards that long-lived radioactive waste poses to society, disposal
regulations require isolation of these wastes for tens of thousands of years (Sylvie, 2015).

3.2. Why Proper Disposal is Crucial for Survival?

As we throw our household waste in to dustbins and further it is dispose of into

landfills and through other disposal methods likewise nuclear waste should be disposed

Page | 3
 Nuclear Energy

properly so that it doesn’t harm its surrounding atmosphere. If we don’t dispose our nuclear
waste in a regimented way and through it as it not only affects our environment but also
affect adversely to humans and wildlife surrounding it because of hazardous radiation
emitting from it that’s why it is crucial to dispose nuclear waste properly.

Nuclear waste contains radioactive elements like uranium, thorium, iodine and they
have certain half-life which needs thousands of years to decay during this time radiation
from radioactive remnants are harmful and will affect many people, wildlife and its
surrounding environment. Some of these affects are as follows:

3.2.1. Affecting Human Population

Humans are significantly impacted by exposure to levels of radiation. This exposure

will affect many future generations, as it leads to several birth and developmental
disabilities. Down syndrome, thyroid cancer, and several other issues have been found in
people affected by radiation.

3.2.2. Affecting Wildlife

One only need look to the Chernobyl disaster to see what the effects of radiation can
be on wildlife in the area. Unfortunately, even though the event was 30 years ago, most of
the animals are deemed to be affected by radioactivity. This manifests in reduced brain
sizes, physical deformities, and other concerns that impact the survival of these creatures.
Not only animals, but also flora of this area is susceptible to damage from nuclear waste.
After Chernobyl an entire forest was destroyed because of radiations.

3.2.3Affecting Nuclear Workers

Those who work around nuclear materials are highly susceptible to negative effects.
Improperly stored waste at a nuclear site can also lead to levels of exposure that are beyond
what is acceptable for humans.

Page | 4
 Nuclear Energy

Biogas is a colorless, flammable gas produced via anaerobic digestion of animal, plant,
human, industrial and municipal wastes amongst others, to give mainly methane (50-70%),
carbon dioxide (20-40%) and traces of other gases such as nitrogen, hydrogen, ammonia,
hydrogen sulphide, water vapor etc. It is smokeless, hygienic and more convenient to use than
other solid fuels.
Biogas production is a three stage biochemical process comprising hydrolysis, acidogenesis and
methanogenesis. Biogas has globally remained a renewable energy source derived from plants that
use solar energy during the process of photosynthesis. Being a source of renewable natural gas, it
has been adopted as one of the best alternatives for fossil fuels after 1970’s world energy crisis.
(Ofoefule, Akuzuo U et al, 2010)
3.1 Biogas Technologies:
Removal of carbon dioxide can be done by various techniques, such as adsorption, absorption,
membrane or cryogenic upgrading. This may be achieved by applying different technologies
(Thrän, et al., 2014).

I. Absorption:
Scrubbing is a process where liquid is sprayed over the gas in a column, and carbon dioxide gets
absorbed by the liquid. Carbon dioxide are more solvable in liquid than methane, thus it is possible
to separate them. Water scrubbing is the most common type of technology used (Thrän, et al.,
2014).

II. Pressure Swing Adsorption :

Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) is an adsorption process where carbon dioxide is separated using
physical properties (Bauer, et al., 2013). Biogas is upgraded using adsorbing material such as
activated carbon or zeolites, which adsorb carbon dioxide (Petersson & Wellinger, 2009).

III. Anaerobic Digestion:

Anaerobic digestion is the process in which certain microorganisms decompose the organic matter
into biogas without the presence of oxygen. It is considered as waste-to-energy technology. It is
widely used in the treatment of different organic wastes, for example: organic fraction of municipal
solid waste, sewage sludge, food waste, animal manure, etc (Sakhawat, et al., 2013).

Page | 5