Deactivating Radioactive Waste In Hundreds, Not Millions, Of Years
Tuesday, September 23, 2008 - 01:28
in Physics & Chemistry
It may be possible to dramatically reduce the radioactive waste isolation time -- from several million years to as little as 300 - 500 years. In order to decrease the isolation time for radioactive waste, first of all, the actinides - elements whose nuclei are heavier than uranium (i.e. curium, actinium) - must be removed from the waste by processing (transmutation) into short-lived nuclei.