Text disposal of nuclear waste

The disposal of waste is one of the most serious problems of nuclear power engineering. Though the total quantity of nuclear waste is millions of times smaller than that from a coal-burning power plant, it is difficult to dispose of it. The potential hazard associated with nuclear waste arises from the radiation it emits.

Spent fuel rods constitute the main bulk of radioactive waste. They contain byproducts of fission with very long half-lives (plutonium, cesium and strontium).

The spent rods are for some time stored under water at the reactor site, so that short-lived isotopes decay and the radioactivity of waste decreases. Then they are brought to a reprocessing plant, where the rods are chopped into pieces and unburned fuel is extracted from them.

The recovered fuel is then reprocessed and the radioactive remnants of the rods are disposed of in several ways:

a) by means of glassing (vitrification), when the waste is blended into glass;

b) by means of permanent burial of the rods placed into stainless steel containers.

The burial site must meet the following requirements:

a) it should be geologically stable;

b) it should not contain water to prevent moisture corrosion.

A list of active words and expressions

total quantity	– общее количество
to decay	– распадаться
to emit	– излучать
to dispose of	– захоронять
to constitute	– составлять
to chop into pieces	– измельчать
to arise from	– возникать из
to store	– хранить, держать
to extract from	– извлекать из
to recover	– восстанавливать, извлекать
to blend into glass	– смешивать со стеклом
to meet requirements	– отвечать требованиям
by means of permanent burial	– посредством постоянного захоронения
short/long lived isotopes	– изотопы с малым/большим периодом полураспада

Ex. 1. Fill in the blanks.

1. The potential hazard … with nuclear waste arises … the radiation it emits. 2. Spent fuel rods … the main … of radioactive waste. 3. All the rods are for ... time stored ... water at the reactor sites. 4. At the reprocessing plants the rods are ... into ... and ... fuel is extracted from them. 5. The radioactive ... of the rods are disposed of in ... ways. 6. The ... fuel is then reprocessed at a plant. 7. The total … of nuclear waste is millions of times … than that from a coal-burning power plant. 8. Spent fuel rods … fission by-products with very … half-lives (plutonium, cesium and strontium). 9. The burial site must … the following … .

Ex. 2. Translate from Russian into English.

1. основные отходы тепловых станций

2. плутоний, цезий, стронций

3. радиоактивные остатки

4. контейнеры из нержавеющей стали

5. геологически устойчивый

6. предотвратить коррозию

7. период полураспада

8. восстановленное топливо

9. повторно использовать

10. основная масса

Ex. 3. Learn the dialogues.

1. – What do you know about radioactive waste?

– It is very dangerous because of its radioactivity.

– What kind of isotopes does it consist of?

– It consists both of short- and long- lived isotopes. As for strontium and cesium they retain radioactivity for centuries.

2. – In what way is radioactive waste disposed of?

– It is stored in the water pool for some time.

– Why is it done?

– It is done to allow the short-lived isotopes to decay.

– And what happens then?

– Spent fuel rods are taken to a reprocessing plant, where the unburned fuel is recovered from them.

– What is it done for?

– The recovered fuel is reprocessed again.

3. – What are the main ways of waste burial?

– Well, first of all, the waste may be placed into glass blocks.

– What are the advantages of this method?

– These blocks are difficult to destroy and they do not release radioactivity, because the waste is blended into glass.

– And what happens to these blocks?

– They are permanently buried.

Ex. 4. Answer the following questions.

1. What is the most serious problem of nuclear power?

2. What constitutes the main bulk of nuclear waste?

3. What byproducts do spent fuel rods contain?

4. What are the ways of disposal of nuclear waste?

5. What does the potential hazard associated with nuclear waste arise from?

6. What requirements should the burial site meet?

Ex. 5. Speak about the problem of nuclear waste disposal.

UNIT X REVISION