Nuclear Waste Disposal As we approach the millennium, we are faced with problems created by our technological advances. Every day we are forced to see the results, from acid rain to polluted beaches. But there is one problem in particular that will likely outlast our generation and the one that created it. If properly contained and monitored, it has little effect on us and our environment. However, once free from containment, it becomes a destructive and deadly force. This problem is nuclear waste. Thirty thousand tons of spent fuel rods from nuclear reactors and another 380,000 cubic meters of highly radioactive waste have been produced in the United States since the beginning of the nuclear age. Currently, these fuel rods are stored in nuclear reactors in water-filled ponds and accumulate at the rate of six tons per day (Whipple, 1996). As the population increases, the demand for electricity also increases. If we continue to rely on nuclear energy to provide our electricity, we will continue to produce more and more nuclear waste. Increased use of nuclear energy and volumes of waste mean a greater possibility of accidental release of radiation into the environment.RadiationHow is it producedHow does radiation in our environment affect us? To understand how radiation affects us, we must first understand how it is produced. Fission is the initial step. It is the splitting of uranium or plutonium atoms that produces radioactive “fission fragments” and “activation products” (Bertell, 1985). These products then ionize normal atoms, which leads to a sort of domino effect at the microscopic level. This chain reaction can also cause the production of activation products causing chemicals in the air,...... middle of paper...... 1982. http://www.public.iastate.edu/smevela /policy .html.Glasstone, Samuel and Jordan, Walter H. (1980). Nuclear energy and its environmental effects. LaGrange Pk., IL: American Nuclear Society.Liptkin, R. (1995). The new glass could store unused plutonium. Science news. 148(23). pp374.Lipschutz, Ronnie D. (1980). Radioactive waste: politics, technology and risk. Cambridge, Mass.: Ballinger Publishing Company. Nadis, Steven. (1996). The solution for the seabed. The monthly Atlantic. 278(4). pp28-30, 38.St. Joe Valley Greens. (1997). Nuclear waste transportation map. http://users.michiana.org/greens/editorial/transpor.htm.Whipple, Chris G. (1996). Can nuclear waste be stored safely at Yucca Mountain? American scientist. 274(6). 72-79.Wright, Richard T. (1989). Biology through the eyes of faith. New York: Christian College Coalition.