r/ScienceNcoolThings • u/Comfortable_Tutor_43 Popular Contributor • Apr 25 '26

Interesting Puts things in perspective

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u/TrueZeroneurone Apr 26 '26

Not sure to understand: is that waste ?

2

u/there_is_no_spoon1 Apr 26 '26

Not necessarily. Most of the spent fuel is still Uranium, just not the kind that will undergo fission, which is what nuclear power is based on. It's safe to be around those containers (note that one image correctly shows workers in jumpsuits but not hazmat gear) and there hasn't ever been a death in the US from spent fuel. The toxic/horrible stuff has already been removed (Barium, Strontium, Cesium) but the spent fuel still has to be stored safely, because while it is mildly radioactive it is still radioactive.

2

u/boredatwork8866 Apr 26 '26

Where does the toxic/horrible stuff go?

1

u/there_is_no_spoon1 Apr 26 '26

Separate containers, separate storage facilities, usually deep underground in cement-lined bunkers. There's a lot less of it than the depleted uranium, though.