Waste from nuclear power plants

The nuclear power plants are the largest producers of radioactive waste. The fission and activation products from spent nuclear fuel represent high-level waste. Operational waste and decommissioning waste arising from the dismantling of the nuclear power plants require to be disposed of as low- and intermediate-level waste.

The blue glow seen in water shielding radiation, in this case a nuclear reactor, is a result of radiation being absorbed by the water and made visible in the form of harmless light. On the right in the image is an open reactor during the annual inspection and on the left in the image a storage pool for spent fuel elements (NPP Gösgen-Däniken).

(Image: NPP Gösgen-Däniken)