This topic contains a solution. Click here to go to the answer

Author Question: One problem for civilian nuclear energy is the creation of long-lived radioactive wastes. Explain ... (Read 88 times)

anjilletteb

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 569
One problem for civilian nuclear energy is the creation of long-lived radioactive wastes. Explain why they are created and why they are a problem.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Is it possible for the decay product of radioactive decay to be radioactive? Explain.
 
  What will be an ideal response?



Related Topics

Need homework help now?

Ask unlimited questions for free

Ask a Question
Marked as best answer by a Subject Expert

Yixagurpuldink

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 341
Answer to Question 1

The fuel of the reactor is uranium-235, which fissions. Because high-Z nuclei
have more neutrons per proton than low-Z nuclei, the fission products are normally neutron
rich compared to normal versions of the atom. Because of this, they are generally more
unstable, and radioactive decay is a process that leads to increased stability. Many will be
radioactive.
They are a problem because they can be dangerous from their thermal output as well as
from their radioactivity. They can be reprocessed to obtain useful isotopes, or the wastes can
be sequestered (the usual choice). The Yucca Mountain facility is to be the official
repository for civilian nuclear wastes (such as those from power plants).

Answer to Question 2

Yes. The nuclei that are radioactive are so because their inner structures are less
stable than it would be without the extra neutron (beta-minus decay), proton (beta-plus
decay), or helium nucleus (alpha decay).
The resulting structures may be less stable against one or several of these changes also. If
so, that nucleus will be radioactive as well. There are many examples of this. The uranium
decay sequence by alpha and beta emission, which ends finally in lead, is one such example.





 

Did you know?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was originally known as the Communicable Disease Center, which was formed to fight malaria. It was originally headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, since the Southern states faced the worst threat from malaria.

Did you know?

Colchicine is a highly poisonous alkaloid originally extracted from a type of saffron plant that is used mainly to treat gout.

Did you know?

About 100 new prescription or over-the-counter drugs come into the U.S. market every year.

Did you know?

The use of salicylates dates back 2,500 years to Hippocrates’s recommendation of willow bark (from which a salicylate is derived) as an aid to the pains of childbirth. However, overdosage of salicylates can harm body fluids, electrolytes, the CNS, the GI tract, the ears, the lungs, the blood, the liver, and the kidneys and cause coma or death.

Did you know?

Alcohol acts as a diuretic. Eight ounces of water is needed to metabolize just 1 ounce of alcohol.

For a complete list of videos, visit our video library