Dealing with nuclear waste
Nuclear power is a low-carbon technology, but it does come with a catch: it produces waste that emits harmful radiation for many thousands, even millions of years. UK chemists, however, are working to produce materials and technology to deal with this problem.
The UK looks set to increase its reliance on nuclear power. Scientists and politicians agree that this technology will be a necessary part of the energy mix to meet the pledge to cut 60 per cent of the country's carbon emissions by 2050. The UK currently has 24 nuclear reactors, many of which began operating in the 1950s. They produce one-fifth of our electricity but are now nearing the end of their lifetime and need to be decommissioned, which will produce yet more waste. Even if no new reactors are built there will be an estimated 478,000 m3 of radioactive waste by 2120: enough to fill London's Royal Albert Hall five times over. What is this waste and how is it being dealt with?
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