[namdnay]

Long term storage represents less than 1% of total waste, the rest is reprocessed. I can’t remember the exact figure, but the “dangerous” waste for the whole of France is something like 10 tons a year - not a big logistical issue

[PaulHoule]

Reprocessing contaminates air and water to some extent. The most difficult product to control is Kr 85 which is an inert gas that usually gets vented to the air but could be stored cryogenically.

Waste products include Cs 137 and some other fission products that decay in 500 years or so. If these are concentrated they generate heat that must be managed. You also get some isotopes of uranium that are not good for fission like U 236, the plutonium goes back into reactors and so can some other transuranics, but others pose challenges. Np 237 is probably the isotope that would be most desirable to steal from a reprocessing plant to make a gun-type bomb, put it back into the reactor and it will fission but also breed Pu 238 which will make huge amounts of decay heat. This complicates the handling of the fuel but it might be a good thing because there is no way anybody is making a bomb out of Pu that is so contaminated…

[Aerroon]

To put the number into context: a 1 cubic meter block of uranium weighs 19 tons.

You could probably fit that under a king size bed. The bed would need about 25 cm of clearance from the floor though (203x193x25 cm ~ 1 cubic meter).

[tomtimtall]

I love the comparison! :D It conjures the image of someone answering concerns about storage with “don’t worry we can just hide it under my bed!”