In general, nuclear power is a safe source of energy, and waste compared with fossil fuels, nuclear reactions produce much less.

However, nuclear waste is indeed extremely dangerous, so we need to be very careful disposal. If disposed of improperly, it can induce a variety of nuclear waste not only cancer, but also have a negative impact on the surrounding ecosystem. The nuclear waste is stored in large cement container is currently the most widely used approach. However, because the characteristics of nuclear waste, to spend hundreds or even thousands of years will become an inert substance, it is the high cost of this method of waste disposal. By Neil Gaiman. Hyatt professor of materials science and engineering department of the University of Sheffield (NeilHyatt) developed a new technology can eliminate ninety percent of the radioactive waste, this study has been published in Journal of Nuclear Materials.

The volume of nuclear waste gratifying compression technology will be a byproduct of steel manufacturing - granulated blast furnace slag and nuclear waste plutonium combine to produce plutonium can be safely stored in a stable nature "synthetic glass." However, in this study, the research team used instead of cerium plutonium. Both metals have similar properties, the researchers cerium as a safe alternative for technical simplification. Three heating cerium and a blast furnace slag in excess of 1500 ℃ (2732 ℉) temperature, then cooled at a greenhouse. Reaction result is a durable, can be safely stored hazardous waste plutonium black glass.

The melting process does not produce a violent reaction, the resulting silicate glass is 5% to 20% by volume of the starting material. Since the reaction principle is simple, the research team hopes the findings will be used in 2011 by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami damaged the Fukushima nuclear power plant clean-up work. Applications will generate annual global atomic energy over 200,000 cubic meters of radioactive waste.

This new technology can transform the burial of nuclear waste into a solid safety glass, thus significantly reducing waste disposal costs; and higher security of the technology, can ease public concerns about nuclear waste burial.