Spent Nuclear Fuel and HLW

• The operation of nuclear reactors results in two kinds of nuclear waste: spent fuel, and waste from processing the spent fuel. Reactors produce spent reactor fuel. The reprocessing of the spent fuel produces high-level radioactive waste (HLW), which can remain radioactive for thousands of years. The government is responsible for the transportation of HLW from nuclear plants for safe disposal. The government develops mined geological repositories as disposal sites for spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste.
  
  

Transuranic Waste

• Nuclear weapons production facilities for defense programs create transuranic waste (TRU) materials. Transuranic means atoms of manmade elements that are higher in atomic number than uranium, the most prominent of which is plutonium. Examples of TRU waste are tools and laboratory equipment contaminated with radioactivity. Although the harmful effects of TRU waste can be contained, the radioactive elements are long-lived. Much of the TRU waste in the United States is buried in trenches in various protected locations.
  
  

Mining Uranium Ore

• Uranium mill tailings are sand-like radioactive byproducts of mining uranium. The tailings are placed in mounds near the mills. The major radioactive component of the tailings is radium, which decays to radon, which can be inhaled by humans, causing lung and organ damage. The tailings from the mining remain in place near where the ore was milled, mostly in Western states. Active controls of the waste include building rock covers for the piles to keep the sand from seeping in to the ground water. The areas are fenced with warning signs. The use of land within a certain radius of the tailings is restricted. Uranium ore is no longer mined in the United States.
  
  

Low-Level Waste

• Low-level radioactive waste (LLW) is contaminated industrial or research material not included in the other categories. Its classification relies on its level of radioactivity. Much of it comes from items contaminated by a radioactive source that remain after the source is removed. It can be paper, clothing, plastic bags or furniture. This material is contained in land disposal on specific sites under government regulatory requirements.
  
  

NORM

• Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) are items that contain radionuclides found in nature. Once NORM is concentrated through a human activity like mining, it can become radioactive waste. NORM can come in small amounts with high radioactivity or large amounts with low radioactivity. Because the levels are not considered a threat to the public, the disposal of NORM is not monitored.