Question

"Spent" nuclear fuel rods come out of a reactor and need to be handled carefully. Why must power plants spend so much money and be so cautious in dealing with these materials?

Answer 1

Answer:

    Nuclear energy, also called atomic energy, is obtained from the fission of the enriched uranium atom nucleus, releasing a large amount of energy. Nuclear energy holds together the nucleus particles of an atom. The division of this nucleus into two parts releases a large amount of energy.

    This energy source is responsible for much controversy and distrust: the lack of security, the disposal of atomic waste, and the possibility of accidents in the plants, cause the disapproval of the use of nuclear energy by most of the population.

Disadvantages of nuclear power (if not handled with extreme caution)

• Waste produced by nuclear energy is very dangerous.

• For both health and the environment in general. Radioactive waste is very polluting, deadly and takes thousands of years to degrade, which makes its management very delicate. In fact, it's a problem we haven't solved yet.
• Accidents can be very serious.
• Nuclear power plants are equipped with great safety measures, but accidents can occur and in this case they can be very serious.
• For both natural disasters and terror acts, a nuclear power plant is a target that can do enormous damage if it is destroyed or damaged.

Answer 2

The rods originally contain the fuel for nuclear reactions, which mean they are highly radioactive. The radiation they emit is very dangerous and harmful to all types of life; therefore, they must be handled with care and disposed of properly to minimize damage because of them.