Methods for disposing of nuclear waste include melting it into a liquid to create glass, dumping it into graphite blocks, storing it in lead-lined rooms, and submerging it in deep pools of water.

Over a lifetime, the average American's nuclear power usage creates a hockey puck of nuclear waste

Spent nuclear fuel remains hot and highly radioactive for long periods, requiring submersion in cooling pools before being stored in dry casks and deep underground repositories. The potential recycling of nuclear waste is impeded by security concerns and dangerous reprocessing methods, particularly when obtaining fresh uranium is often easier.

As of 2024, there are 90,000 tons of nuclear waste stored at 100+ sites in 39 states

Over 315,000 bundles of spent nuclear fuel rods are stored in water pools and over 3,800 dry storage casks in concrete vaults above ground. Corrosion from saltwater spray threatens waste containers of reactors near oceans.

For decades, the US has considered building a permanent nuclear waste repository

All nuclear waste would have been stored at Nevada's Yucca Mountain, but the Obama administration indefinitely stalled the project after intense community backlash. Spent fuel is now stored at more than 80 locations in 36 states, raising safety concerns.

Water acts as a coolant and a moderator of nuclear reactions in reactors

Nuclear reactions within a containment structure boil water into steam, which drives a turbine that generates electricity. This water is then recirculated via pumps back into the containment structure to repeat the process, with reaction rates lowered by the insertion of control rods that absorb neutrons, which trigger reactions.

Turning nuclear waste into cancer medications

This video explores Terrapower, a company transforming nuclear waste into lifesaving cancer treatments. This is accomplished through the production and use of Actinium 225, a rare isotope derived from thorium, which is used in targeted alpha therapy to treat cancer.

View a list of the worst nuclear meltdowns before 2013

Nuclear meltdowns occur when a reactor overheats and radioactive materials leach into the surrounding environment. While rare, the reasons for each occurrence—as detailed in this piece—can help establish new safety protocols for future reactors.

What happens if you throw trash into lava?

Each year, the world generates more than 2 billion tons of waste. Some have wondered: Could we dispose of it in lava? This video explores the science behind that idea, from lava lake temperatures to steam explosions and toxic emissions, and why the risks outweigh the benefits.

Nuclear batteries generate electrical currents using radioactive materials

Rather than using electrochemical reactions to produce the electrons that flow through a circuit, isotopes like nickel-63 undergo beta decay—emitting electrons—which a semiconducting material can absorb to establish a charge imbalance that generates current. Such batteries could provide low-power energy for decades.

Watch a visualization of the construction of Chernobyl's sarcophagus

Built to contain the remains of Reactor 4 after the nuclear disaster, the "shelter structure" was constructed from about 400,000 cubic meters of concrete—enough to fill 160 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Construction required vehicles and cranes modified with special shielding to protect workers.

Uranium's ability to split easily makes it the most common catalyst for nuclear power

Uranium is commonly found in rocks, water, and soil worldwide, but significant industrial processes are needed to process and enrich it for efficient reactor usage. After being irradiated in reactors, it must be cooled down before disposal.

Rare earth elements may be extracted from mine waste and coal ash

Rather than focusing solely on new mining operations, which can take decades to establish, some startups are developing methods to extract these metals from the toxic waste of existing operations and thereby minimize environmental impacts. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

The 'Elephant's Foot' in Chernobyl is part of the largest documented mass of corium

The nuclear disaster produced around 200 tons of nuclear fuel that mixed with the surrounding melted reactor core materials. As of 2025, corium has been naturally formed four other times in history: once during the Three Mile Island accident and three times at the Fukushima Daiichi plant disaster.

Mining of rare earth elements risks leaking radioactive wastewater

The extraction and processing of REEs requires significant amounts of water, and poorly regulated projects can contaminate groundwater with acids and heavy metals. Toxic waste spills have paused work in several US mines since the 1980s, despite growing REE demand.

Study pinpoints where to hide during a nuclear blast

There’s no surviving the fireball of a nuclear bomb, but beyond that, there are certain spots indoors where you can try avoid the destructive shockwave.

Visualizing the chemistry of nuclear weapons

Nuclear weapons have devastating effects, but the science of how they work is atomically small. There are two main types of nuclear reaction: fission and fusion. The fission bomb produces immense energy by splitting an atom, the result of firing a...

The Curies were buried in lead-lined coffins to contain their radioactive bodies

Their discoveries of polonium and radium involved ongoing exposure to radioactive materials before shielding technology was developed. Their notebooks, furniture, and other belongings remain radioactive today, requiring researchers to sign a waiver and wear protective clothing to access.

Alkaline hydrolysis—dissolving the body—is one 'green' burial option

This approach, which is sometimes called flameless cremation, involves dissolving the body with water and chemicals. The remaining bone fragments can then be spread like ashes. It was reportedly incorporated into the funeral industry in 2011.

Geothermal power plants can provide large-scale energy storage for other systems

These facilities can store excess energy from solar and wind power as hot water or steam, which can be used to run turbines to generate electricity when other renewable energy sources are unavailable. Simulations have found efficiencies of 90% during a storage-use cycle, making it comparable to lithium-ion batteries.

Could we throw trash inside volcanoes?

Americans toss out about 239 million tons of garbage each year. Some have wondered whether we could toss some (or all) of it into volcanoes, where it could be destroyed. There are about 1,500 active volcanoes on Earth, and many are pretty remote, making logistics complex. This video investigates whether the idea checks out.

See where the 94 nuclear reactors in the continental US are located

In 2023, these reactors—located in 53 plants across 28 states—prevented 437 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. A single fingertip-sized uranium pellet generates as much electricity as a ton of coal, enough for one household's annual electricity.

Geothermal power can reduce the dangerous mining of rare earth elements

Geothermal brines—mineral-rich underground fluids extracted for use in geothermal plants—contain small concentrations of REEs that can be recovered after energy generation. Although researchers suggest that this retrieval requires complex extraction methods at a significant scale to account for high flow rates, the chemical processes also occur in traditional REE processing.

A breakdown of nuclear fusion and what is impeding this near-limitless clean-energy resource

While today's nuclear reactors rely on fission, which releases energy by splitting heavy atoms, nuclear fusion releases energy by combining atoms together to form more massive ones. Fusion involves overcoming repulsive forces between the centers, or nuclei, of atoms, and, as of 2026, overcoming this repulsion takes more energy than is produced.

Data centers can be kept cool by circulating fluid over plates atop high-temperature components or by submerging equipment in non-corrosive oil that does not conduct electricity.

Greenhouse gas removal consists of a series of techniques to capture and store GHGs

These include turning biomass into charcoal for storage in soil before it decays and releases carbon dioxide, crushing CO₂-absorbing rocks—increasing exposed surface area—and spreading them across land to accelerate GHG uptake, and restoring degraded peatlands, which can store twice the amount of carbon as the average forest.

Sand 'batteries' can store excess electricity from the power grid as thermal energy

Energy collected from solar or wind power is used to heat insulated silos full of sand to temperatures as high as 450 degrees Celsius (842 degrees Fahrenheit), which can be retained for long periods. These thermal energy storage systems can be designed to boil water and generate electricity when needed.

In 1984, Operation Smash Hit intentionally crashed a 239-ton train into a nuclear waste canister at 100 miles per hour to prove the canister's safety, which remained completely intact and lost just 0.29 of its 100 pounds of pressure.

Landfills capture methane gas and convert it into usable energy

As organic waste breaks down underground, it produces landfill gas that is roughly 50% methane. That gas can be captured and used to generate electricity or provide heat for nearby homes and businesses.

Nuclear weapons in WWII

This 14-minute interactive documentary broaches the subject of the human cost of nuclear warfare. Comparing the number of deaths during World War II with the projected deaths of a nuclear exchange, the video can be paused to delve deeper into individual statistics, historical tidbits, and more data that shows the terrible price humanity would pay.

More than 500,000 people worked to contain Chernobyl's fallout

The group—collectively referred to as "liquidators"—included firefighters, military troops, miners, engineers and sanitation crews. Beyond clearing radioactive debris and performing decontamination work, they confined radioactive material to prevent its spread into groundwater.

The North American waste management market was worth $208B in 2019

Burning waste to generate energy is a $10B industry in the US alone. A growing number of major companies—including Amazon, Subaru, and American Airlines—are pursuing "zero landfill" sustainability goals.

Explaining the engineering challenges of extracting metal-rich nodules from the seafloor

Proposed solutions for collecting these potato-shaped rocks involve lifting a slurry composed of them, organic debris, and water through several kilometers of flexible tubing to a ship on the surface, a process that is more difficult than pumping crude oil. One method would use compressed air, but this method is only 15% energy-efficient.

Nuclear weapons release energy through rapid atomic reactions

Nuclear weapons work by unleashing energy from atomic fission—or fusion—reactions. In fission bombs, a critical mass triggers a runaway chain reaction in milliseconds. This video explains the basic science behind their immense explosive power.

Visualize what happens to atoms during nuclear fission and how the process produces energy

Nuclear fission occurs when an unstable, often massive, atomic nucleus splits into smaller ones—daughter atoms—and releases energy. Within a nuclear reactor, these daughter atoms can collide and combine with neighboring atoms, destabilizing them and triggering a chain reaction of atomic splitting.

Geothermal power can generate electricity and provide direct heating for homes

By drilling several kilometers through penetrable rock, wells can access highly pressurized groundwater warmed by thermal energy trapped beneath Earth's surface. This water can be turned into steam to create electricity in generators. Heating systems several meters deep can pump fluid underground before circulating it through buildings.

Explore the decommissioning work at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

This virtual tour explores the nuclear disaster site, which resulted from a magnitude 9.1 earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, and the various processes underway to remove debris, fuel, and contaminated water.

Small modular reactors can provide nuclear power with reduced risks and logistics

Their factory-built design allows them to be quickly installed underground, reducing their exposure to future extreme weather. They can provide power to small towns and major cities with much smaller start-up costs and reduced siting requirements.

Experts argue that nuclear war is more likely than is commonly believed

The podcast highlights that many of the world's roughly 12,000 nuclear weapons—capable of triggering global collapse and nuclear winter—remain on high alert. Experts warn that this status, combined with limited public awareness, makes nuclear war disturbingly plausible.

New York City spends $429 million a year just to get rid of its trash

None of NYC's garbage is processed within the city. It is transported by truck, train, and barge to waste-to-energy facilities and landfills as far away as Ohio and South Carolina, a vast logistical operation.

Scientists have proposed using lasers to push space trash into Earth's atmosphere

Such projects would allow most debris to burn up and no longer pose a risk to active satellites, telescopes, and astronauts on space stations. Enacting these plans would require substantial investments from private and governmental space agencies and overcoming international laws that prevent the removal of another country's space equipment.

NUKEMAP lets you model the effects of a nuclear detonation anywhere on Earth

The tool was built by Alex Wellerstein, a historian of nuclear technology at the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey. NUKEMAP uses declassified weapons data to calculate blast radius, thermal radiation, fallout patterns, and estimated casualties for any nuclear device dropped on any city. More than 50 million people have used it since its 2012 launch.

Data centers' electrical needs create increased water demands beyond cooling

Each query uses approximately one single-serving water bottle per conversation, but water is also used for steam cycles and cooling in power plants that generate electricity for data centers. Newer cooling methods, such as immersion cooling, where servers are submerged in fluids that don't conduct electricity, can minimize water use.

Graphite is a powerful conductor and heat-resistant material

Graphite can withstand temperatures of more than 3,000 degrees Celsius, allowing it to contain molten metal in steel production. Rosalind Franklin identified which carbon compounds become graphite and laid the groundwork for their use in industrial applications.

The Large Hadron Collider is the world's largest cryogenic system, which uses 10,000 metric tons of liquid nitrogen and 120 metric tons of helium to cool 36,000 metric tons of magnets to temperatures colder than outer space.

The Love Canal disaster exposed the dangers of buried toxic waste

In the late 1970s, residents of Niagara Falls, New York, discovered their neighborhood was built atop 20,000 tons of chemical waste. Leaking toxins caused illness and birth defects, sparking nationwide outrage and leading to the creation of the EPA's Superfund cleanup program in 1980.

Japanese scientists have developed an eco-friendly plastic that naturally dissolves in hours, leaving behind molecules containing phosphorus and nitrogen, which fertilize soil.

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

View a breakdown of bioremediation strategies, divided into onsite and offsite options

Depending on the contamination's complexity, in situ—onsite—options may be preferred and can include supplying oxygen or nutrients into the existing soil to accelerate the microbial breakdown already present in the environment. Ex-situ methods instead displace contamination for treatment away from the environment and may be used for volatile chemicals that require isolation, though this displacement can also spread contaminants if spilled.

Some materials can absorb low-energy light and emit high-energy radiation

Through anti-Stokes cooling, incoming energy is combined with vibrations in a material's crystal lattice to produce a net reduction in its temperature. Using this effect, lasers can be directed at microchip hot spots to help keep data centers cool.

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

Items in the Curie Museum do not produce significant radioactivity today

Ionizing radiation produced by elements such as uranium, polonium, and radium can damage living things, but the trace amounts found in the museum objects that Marie Curie once touched have been largely decontaminated, with more dangerous items stored in protective, lead-lined containers.