Rethinking nuclear waste
Name
Wainwright_Rethinking_nuclear_waste_final_manuscript.pdf
Size
28.12 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
d92b1e53036a798821f9fadc19aa95f4
Author(s)
Wainwright, Haruko
Alternative Title
The best-managed industrial waste in history
Date Issued
August 26, 2026
Journal
Nature Outlook: Nuclear power
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Citation
Nature 656, S8 (2026)
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Almost since the first nuclear power plant started generating electricity in the 1950s, critics have pointed out the difficulty of safely disposing of highly radioactive spent fuel. In those days, radiation was among the few carcinogens that were recognized and could be measured easily. Cold-war anxieties amplified public fear of nuclear technologies and radiation. As a result, spent fuel-often referred to as nuclear waste-came to be treated as uniquely hazardous, requiring exceptionally stringent isolation over long timescales.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-02508-2
