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7.3.4Acids, Bases and Salts

Radioactive Waste — Cambridge IGCSE Chemistry 0620 Revision Notes & Topical Questions

5 min read 4 parts Lesson 10 of 11 Unit quiz

📚 Cambridge IGCSE Chemistry 0620 Hub / Topical Revision
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Curriculum Equation Key Radioactive Decay & Half-Life FormulasFast Exam Solution
N(t) = N₀ × (1/2)t / t½ | λ = ln(2) / t½ ≈ 0.693 / t½ | E = Δm × c²
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Part 1 of 4Types of Waste

7.3.4 Radioactive Waste
Fission products
  • The unusable daughter nuclei from fission are highly radioactive and can remain hazardous for thousands of years.
Spent fuel rods
  • Used fuel is very hot and highly radioactive, so it must be handled and stored much more carefully than other waste.
Long half-life
  • Waste with a long half-life stays radioactive for a long time and must be kept away from people and the environment.
Small volume
  • The amount of waste is small compared with the energy generated, but its hazard is very high.

Part 2 of 4Managing Waste

1
Highly radioactive spent fuel is handled remotely and kept shielded while its heat and radiation fall.
2
Waste is packaged in sealed containers so that the radioactive material cannot escape into the environment.
3
High-activity waste is stored underground until its radioactivity has fallen to a safe level.
4
Storage methods are chosen according to how active the waste is and how long its half-life lasts.

Part 3 of 4Chernobyl Incident

Chernobyl Incident
Location
  • The Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in Ukraine, suffered an explosion in 1986.
Cause
  • The explosion happened during a safety test in which the control rods had been withdrawn too far.
Release
  • Large amounts of radioactive material escaped into the air and spread over the surrounding land.
Aftermath
  • Over a hundred thousand people were evacuated, and a large exclusion zone remains because radiation levels are still high.

Part 4 of 4Exam Checklist & Tips

7.3.4 – Key Points for the Exam

  • Radioactive waste Materials left over from nuclear reactions that remain radioactive.
  • Fission product A daughter nucleus formed when a large nucleus undergoes fission.
  • Spent fuel Fuel that has been used in a reactor and is now highly radioactive and hot.
  • Half-life The time taken for the activity of a sample to halve.
  • Exclusion zone An area around a hazardous site where people are not allowed to live or enter.

Common Mistakes

  • Saying nuclear waste is only dangerous for a few years;
    • some fission products stay hazardous for thousands of years.
  • Thinking that spent fuel is less radioactive than fresh fuel;
    • fission products are more radioactive than the original fuel.
  • Describing the Chernobyl incident as a fusion reaction; it was a fission reactor accident.

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