| Question | Answer |
| disadvantage for incineration | expensive to build and operate, can cause pollutants, dioxin, inefficiently burned, requires energy |
| advantage for incineration | reduces volume, reduce minimal space, produces stable, odor-free residue, can be used as a source of energy |
| disadvantage for ocean dumping | danger to marine animals, pollutes the sea |
| advantage for ocean dumping | source of nutrients, convenient and inexpensive |
| disadvantage | unsightly, causes air and ground water pollution, health hazard encourages rodents and insects |
| advantage for open dumping | inexpensive, convenient (to the dumper) |
| disadvantage for landfills | local residents may object to new site, once filled, needs time to settle, and may require maintenance as methane released |
| advantage for landfill | efficient method to deal with large volumes, filled land can be used for building or other community purposes |
| where does high level waste come from? | spent fuel rods or reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. ACTUALLY RADIOACTIVE |
| high level waste | high activity and generally the isotopes have long half-lives so waste remains active for a long period |
| low level radioactive waste | half-lives of radioactive isotopes and are generally short |
| What are some low level waste items? | rubber gloves, paper towels, protective clothing that have been used in areas where radioactive materials are handled |
| disadvantage of recycling | expensive, difficult in separating different materials |
| advantage of recycling | provides a sustainable environment |
| What is high level waste? | it's a small volume of nuclear waste but contains most of the radioactivity |
| What are products of low-level nuclear waste? | caesium and strontium |
| What's banned when it comes to combustible dry low-level waste? | how much of the radiation from the incineration is released into the environment, how much is dumped into landfill sites or diluting by dumping it into the sea |
| What does low level radioactive waste and intermediate level nuclear waste be stored in? | steel containers in concrete vaults below ground |
| What does low level radioactive waste get compacted to? | reduced volume. It is buried in shallow lined, land-burial trenches |
| What does low level radioactive waste decrease to? | Background radiation within 500 years. In 100 years, 90% of it decreasing to general levels |
| What's the difference between gamma rays and beta rays? | Gamma rays are about 100 times the penetrating power of beta particles |
| What are gamma rays? | Gamma rays are high energy electromagnetic radiation that have high penetrating power. They can penetrate a few km of air and several cm of lead but can be stopped by about 10cm of lead or several meters of concrete |
| What's the difference between beta and alpha particles? | Beta particles are about a 100 times the penetrating power of alpha particles |
| What are the three common types of radioactive emissions? | Alpha particles, beta particles, gamma rays |
| What are beta particles? | Beta particles or B-rays are a stream of electrons that are negatively charged that have moderator penetrating power, they can penetrate a few meters of air and can be stopped by 1 mm thick aluminium foil |
| What can stop alpha particles? | clothing, paper, or skin |
| What are alpha particles | positively charged helium nuclei, that have low penetrating power (a few cm of air) |
| what's radioactivity? | ability of some isotopes to undergo reactions involving nuclear change or transmission |
| methods of waste disposal | landfill sites, incineration, large scale composting, recycling and burial of radiocative wastes |
| What are recyclable materials? | paper, glass, metals |
30 cards - created dec 15, 8:11am