WASTE AND DECOMMISSIONING
 

Using nuclear fission to generate electricity also produces nuclear waste. This includes spent fuel, fuel cladding and even tools and clothing that have become radioactive.

However, the quantities of waste produced are tiny compared to the amounts of carbon dioxide released from burning fossil fuels. More than half a century after nuclear fission was first used to generate electricity in the UK all of the high-level waste produced could fit into a single Olympic-sized swimming pool.

Today, nuclear waste is stored at special above-ground facilities, but there are plans to build a geological disposal facility in the UK,
which one day will safely isolate and store this waste deep underground, between 200m and 1000m deep.

READY TO TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE?

Take part in our brain challenge. Earn points as you prove you know your stuff