The Disposal of Nuclear Waste Alisha HandwergerThe disposal of nuclear waste is becoming a concern. Many nuclear power plants around the worldare nearing the end of their operating lives. This is particularly true in the United States where most nuclear power plants are approaching the end of the operational time period allowed in their licenses. Locally the Ginna power plant, which is 20 miles northeast of Rochester, on Lake Ontario, is attempting to deal with the same issues as all. The cold war has left us with radioactive waste from decommissioned nuclear missiles. The disposal of radioactive waste from nuclear power plants and nuclear missiles is politically intense and isan issue as the plants and missiles themselves. The three issues have remained curiously separate in spiteof their close physical ties. Their have been a couple debates on nuclear power and nuclear weapons. Countries have discussed theses problems of waste disposal should the power plant or missile be decommissioned. Few debates on nuclear waste disposal are argued and opportunities to close nuclear power plants have been considered. Some feel that they should be or get rid of nuclear weapons a disposal site would afford.Nuclear waste can be generally classified a either "low level" radioactive waste or "high level" radioactive waste. These two levels of nuclear waste usually include material used to handle the highly radioactive partsof nuclear reactors and waste from medical procedures involving radioactive treatments or x-rays. Low level waste is comparatively easy to dispose of. The level of radioactivity and the half life of the radioactive isotopes in low level waste are relatively small. Storing the waste for a period of 10 to 50 years will allow most of the radioactive isotopes in low level waste to decay, at which point the waste can be disposed of as normal refuse. High level radioactive waste is generally material from the core of the nuclear reactor or nuclear weapon. This waste includes uranium, plutonium, and other highly radioactive elements made during fission. Most ofthe radioactive isotopes in high level waste emit large amounts of radiation and have exceptionally long half-lives creating long time periods before the waste will settle to safe levels of radioactivity. The final disposal oflow- and intermediate-levels of nuclear waste has reached the level of realization. The United States of America has started to emplace very long lived nuclear waste deep into bedrock. The final disposal of high-level nuclear waste has not been started anywhere.Low- and intermediate-level waste into rock cavernsIn Finland, low- and intermediate-level reactor waste is disposed in large portions. This has been constructed to both Olkiluoto and Loviisa a dumping site. At Olkiluoto this is a kind of disposal facility and has been running since 1992. At Loviisa the site was commissioned in 1998. Since 1997, the center of storage from the wastes is under the Radiation Act and that has been located on the bottom of the Olkiluoto is the final disposal facility for reactor waste. At the end of 2000 the amount of waste was 40 m3. Their total activity was 30 (TBq).Management of high-level waste There are two main options for management of spent nuclear fuel. The first option is to use fuel in reactor only once. After its removal from the reactor the spent fuel is declared high-level waste as such. Another option is to recycle spent nuclear fuel by reprocessing. Spent fuel contains uranium and plutonium which are two main ingredients. They can be reused in the manufacture of nuclear fuel. In order to separate uranium and plutonium from spent nuclear fuel, it is reprocessed at plants. Reprocessing is not solving the waste problem because the remaining high-level liquid waste generated by reprocessing must be disposed of someplace. The liquid is solidified in glass for final disposal. France, Great Britain and Russia have huge reprocessing plants.There are five more or less possible alternatives for the final disposal of high-level waste. They are monitored long-term storage, final disposal deep in bedrock, embedding in the bottom sediments of the ocean, final disposal in deep boreholes and transmutation. In long-term storage, wastes are stored temporarily within the power plant areas in ground or near surface storage structures. This alternative is that the development of technology may bring better methods of arranging the waste. The most significant thing is indefinite storage that means it assumes that the future will remain stable and capable of maintaining stores.The first detailed plan for final disposal deep in hard bedrock was made by the Swedes more than 20 years ago. Nowadays most of the countries that use nuclear energy have a programmer for the final disposal of high-level wastes in bedrock. The plans differ somewhat between the countries. As a host rock for disposal, granite, salt, clay, calystone and tuff formations are being investigated. In direct final disposal, encapsulated fuel rod assemblies are disposed of as such. In reprocessing, high-level waste is solidified in glass before final disposal. Several countries plan to start the operation of their final disposal facilities in 2010-2030. So far the final disposal programmers have constantly been postponed.Other alternatives for the geological disposal of high-level waste are final disposal in deep boreholes or in the sea bed. These alternatives are practically permanent solutions unlike facilities in bedrock. High-level waste could be brought back on the surface from deep repositories if required. However, this would be very high price. But afterwards it would be difficult to verify the safety of these disposal methods. There is no certainty that waste canisters would remain intact in the depths of oceans or bedrock. It would most probably be difficult to win international approval for the final disposal of wastes in seabed.In transmutation, very long-lived radioactive substances could be separated from waste and destroyed. Transmutation means that radioactive source material is transformed stable, shorter-lived or fissile.Transmutation would be used to destroy those substances of spent nuclear fuel that have very long half-lives, even of millions of years. Great Britain and Russia have huge reprocessing plants. There are five more or less possible alternatives for the final disposal of high-level waste. They are monitored long-term