Why do radioactive wastes have to be treated properly?
Nuclear power enables a large amount of energy to be produced from a very small amount of fuel, therefore only a small amount of waste is produced. However, in September 1987, an accident ocurred at Goiana in Brazil. A strongly radioactive caesium-137 source, the radioactive waste from a telegraphy machine in an abandoned clinic, toke away 4 people’s lives and generated about 3500 cubic metres of radioactively contaminated waste when it was improperly removed from its protective housing. This accident indicated that nuclear waste could be a potential hazard if it is not properly handled, despite their small size. The general objective of radioactive waste disposal is that the waste should be treated without causing harm to both human and the environment as well as to minimise the burden placed on future generations. Generally, this purpose is achieved by converting any waste which is not in a stable solid form into such a form, encase with a corrosion resistant canister, which is gener
