It’s an inexact measurement to give you an idea of how little waste is actually produced.
I used to feel very anti-nuclear, mostly out of fear and lack of information. Then I read more about it and learned that taking point.
Other sources I find from a quick google use different comparisons, like this one[1]:
> In fact, the U.S. has produced roughly 83,000 metrics tons of used fuel since the 1950s—and all of it could fit on a single football field at a depth of less than 10 yards.
> Used fuel can be recycled.
> More than 90% of its potential energy still remains in the fuel, even after five years of operation in a reactor.
Or this measurement[2]:
> a typical 1,000-megawatt nuclear power station, which would supply the needs of more than a million people, produces only three cubic metres of vitrified high-level waste per year,
Well, optimistically, there’s about 250,000 tons of high level nuclear waste worldwide, which represents about 13,000 cubic meters of waste. Auditoriums tend to max out at 5000 cubic meters, so, it’s fair to say it would take a few auditoriums. Best way to put it that can be understood visually is that it’s about 5-6 olympic sized swimming pools worth of waste. And generally the high level stuff is mixed in with other waste people don’t bother to separate, so could be considered a few times more than that.
I used to feel very anti-nuclear, mostly out of fear and lack of information. Then I read more about it and learned that taking point.
Other sources I find from a quick google use different comparisons, like this one[1]:
> In fact, the U.S. has produced roughly 83,000 metrics tons of used fuel since the 1950s—and all of it could fit on a single football field at a depth of less than 10 yards.
> Used fuel can be recycled.
> More than 90% of its potential energy still remains in the fuel, even after five years of operation in a reactor.
Or this measurement[2]:
> a typical 1,000-megawatt nuclear power station, which would supply the needs of more than a million people, produces only three cubic metres of vitrified high-level waste per year,
1. https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/5-fast-facts-about-spent-...
2. https://world-nuclear.org/nuclear-essentials/what-is-nuclear...