Power/energy: Nuclear waste disposal: Where and how?: How to safely handle one of the most hazardous substances is an urgent problem shared by technologists and the public

If the radioactive particles in the used nuclear fuel rods from one year's operation of a reactor were to be dispersed in water, it would take all of Lake Superior to dilute them enough so the water would meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards for drinking. The volume of water needed to dilute all used reactor fuel in the U.S. to safe levels would be many times the volume of the world's fresh-water lakes.