ERST 3080Y Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Radioactive Contamination, Chalk River Laboratories, Public Knowledge

• School: Trent University
• Department: Environmental & Resource Studies
• Course: ERST 3080Y
• Professor: N/ A

Document Summary

The wastes created along the yellowcake trail, be it from mining, processing, refining or use are a legacy for hundreds of thousands of years. Mid (cid:1005)97(cid:1004)"s (cid:374)egle(cid:272)t of radioa(cid:272)ti(cid:448)e (cid:449)aste (cid:449)as (cid:374)o lo(cid:374)ger acceptable to the public. 2 issues: 1) spent fuel contains hundreds of different fission products. It is so radioactive that it is lethal in seconds to anyone near them. 2) port hope radioactive contamination dates back to 1930s, refining radium and uranium ores and discarding the waste anywhere. Unable to recycle without producing more liquid radioactive waste and no way to keep it contained. Di(cid:448)ided i(cid:374)to 3 (cid:272)ategories: (cid:1005)(cid:895) high le(cid:448)el radioa(cid:272)ti(cid:448)e waste (cid:894)hlrw(cid:895) referred to as (cid:862)spe(cid:374)t- fuel(cid:863) fro(cid:373) candy po(cid:449)er reactors, research reactors and isotope production. Uranium mining and milling wastes which includes both mill tailings and waste rock. Naturally occurring radioactive materials (norm) which comes from the processing of raw materials, particularly upstream oil and gas.