- #36
Astronuc
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
2023 Award
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Yes - but it is also a legal definition.splitringtail said:Waste is a subjective term. If I put my soda cans in the trash and it goes to a landfill, then it is pretty much waste even though it can be recycled.
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/glossary/high-level-radioactive-waste-hlw.html
http://www.nrc.gov/waste/high-level-waste.html
Then there is industrial waste, which could be organic (hydrocarbon) chemical waste or heavy metals. Some organic chemical and all heavy metals are generally classified as toxic waste. The goal is to isolate the waste from the environment and people, just as the nuclear industry and government have the goal to keep radionuclides isolated from the environment and people. On the other hand, not all non-radioactive industrial waste is not necessarily as restricted as 'nuclear waste'.
Much of spent fuel (~95-96%) can be used again (recycled/reprocessed), with the remain 4-5% calcined and vitrified into a mineral that should be placed in a geological stable respository.
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