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Energy & Renewables vocabulary · Hydro, Nuclear and Other Sources

Nuclear waste

Meaning in energy & renewables, with examples

nounCommon term

In energy & renewables, nuclear waste means: Radioactive material left over from nuclear power and other nuclear activities, especially spent fuel from reactors, which must be kept safely isolated for very long periods.

In Turkish: nükleer atık, radyoaktif atık, kullanılmış yakıt

How it is used

Technical texts usually say radioactive waste or spent fuel. Waste is classified as low-, intermediate- or high-level. Spent fuel is first cooled in pools, then kept in dry casks, and finally planned for deep geological repositories.

Example sentences

  1. The plant's nuclear waste is kept in dry casks on site until a final repository is ready.

  2. Public concern about nuclear waste often delays new reactor projects.

Common collocations

  • radioactive waste
  • spent fuel
  • high-level waste
  • waste repository
  • dry cask storage
  • nuclear powerElectricity produced from the heat released when uranium atoms are split in a reactor. It produces almost no carbon dioxide while running.
  • nuclear reactorThe part of a nuclear power plant where a controlled chain reaction splits uranium atoms and produces heat, which is used to make steam for the turbines.
  • uraniumA heavy, slightly radioactive metal used as fuel in nuclear reactors. For most reactors it is enriched so that the share of the isotope U-235 rises to about 3 to 5 percent.
  • decommissionTo close a power plant or other facility permanently, take it out of service and, in many cases, dismantle it and restore the site.

More terms: Hydro, Nuclear and Other Sources

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