About

Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that consists of elements that emit radiation that is harmful to human health. Most radioactive waste comes from nuclear power generation, mining, nuclear research, and medicine. The production of nuclear weapons is another major source of radioactive waste. As radioactive waste emits radiation, it also decays and changes into other elements that are less harmful. In time, all the radioactive material will have decayed. The problem is that it takes thousands of years for some radioactive elements to decay, and up to millions of years for others. Somehow, human beings must find a way to dispose of radioactive waste so that it is no longer dangerous. We have no choice. Scientists have suggested different ways to do this, each means of disposal has its advantages and disadvantages.
 

Your task

Design a system for radioactive waste disposal, that will receive peaceful (non-military) radioactive waste, and store it securely for millennia. Design the facilities and processes needed to dispose of the radioactive waste safely and efficiently, to prevent nuclear material from escaping, and to store the waste until it is no longer harmful to life. Consider the feasibility of your radioactive waste disposal system. Build a small-scale model to demonstrate your radioactive waste disposal system. Work on this project in a team with a group of your classmates.
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The design thinking stages

Follow the five design thinking stages to ensure that you think of everything and do everything necessary in order to succeed in your design project. First, you must UNDERSTAND the design topic and the needs of the users. With that understanding, you can DECIDE what is important to your design solution and what is not so important. Then you CREATE to come up with ideas and improve them. Then you BUILD your chosen design idea in a physical form and improve it through trial-and-error. Finally, you TEST your built design idea to get the opinions of users. Use the methods from the Design Thinking for Schools website as you follow the design thinking stages.
 

Note for teachers

​​​​​​​Read the guide for teachers on Safety for the BUILD Stage for Level III to safely supervise this design project.​​​​​