Nuclear Chemist Interview Question:

Tell me what happens after a reactor's run for 18 months, with these uranium pellets? What are you left with?

Submitted by: Muhammad

Well, the uranium is in the form of pellets, and typically, what you have of the original fuel that you put in there is only a very small percentage of it has been used up, perhaps one, two, three percent after a year. And the fissioning process has made that fuel rod very radioactive. Much of that radioactivity goes away within minutes, some after hours, and some after days. But you're left with a considerable residual amount of radioactivity. Now, some of those materials could be reused. Some of the radioactive materials could be reused if you recycle the fuel. For today in the U.S., the policy is no recycling. And so you're left with whatever's there.
Submitted by: Muhammad