The United States began using nuclear energy to commercially produce electricity in 1957. Since then, it has proven itself as one of our safest energy technologies. Its use is not without challenges, however; the biggest are issues of radioactive waste and the potential misuse of nuclear fuels for destructive purposes. Another challenge we face as a Nation is how to identify and properly train the next generation of nuclear scientists.

What is Nuclear Waste?

In the process of day-to-day living, people produce waste. Consider the amount of food scraps, used paper, and other trash that you and your family throw into the trash every day. Just think of how much waste one visit to a fast food restaurant creates - leftover food and drinks, bags, straws, cups and containers.

Industries also create trash as a result of doing or making something. The leftovers of an industrial process are called waste.

Like all industries, nuclear power plants produce waste. But nuclear waste is not like normal garbage. The challenge with nuclear power plants is not the amount of waste they make, which is quite small compared with the amount of waste produced by many other industries. The challenge is that some nuclear power plant waste is radioactive. This means that disposing of the waste requires special care to protect workers and the public. The way it is disposed of depends on how radioactive the waste is.

All nuclear waste is radioactive. It gives off invisible energy rays that can make people sick and even die if they are exposed to it. Nuclear waste will stay radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years.

Right now, we store nuclear waste in the United States in special buildings and containers that are safe for a certain amount of time.

How Can Nuclear Energy Be Misused?

Strict security precautions protect fuel for nuclear power plants in the United States and around the world. This is because uranium and plutonium, which serve as fuel for nuclear power plants, can also be used to make nuclear weapons. It takes highly enriched uranium or purified plutonium to make a bomb, however, and these materials are not as highly concentrated in commercial nuclear power plants. It is still important to make sure no one can steal nuclear fuel, and so very strict security measures are in place to protect the fuel at the power plant and during transportation.

Who Will Be Our Next Nuclear Scientists?

Interest in pursuing a career in nuclear energy was high in the 1970s. Many of our Nation's current nuclear physicists and nuclear engineers received their training then. Those scientists are looking forward to retiring in the coming decade. It is time to start preparing a new group of young scientists to take their places when they retire.