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cookiemonsterwave t1_iwn51ru wrote

How long would spent fuel from a nuclear reactor that was stored in the spent fuel pool last if there was no human presence/interaction at the plant?

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csamsh t1_iwnlmvi wrote

It depends on the isotopic makeup of the fuel. If you know the composition, the decay is quite simple to model. If we're talking about the actual atomic material itself, some portion will last forever assuming it's not converted to energy- eventually the radioisotopes will decay to stable elements with no half life.

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