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DCL

For radioactive waste to qualify as "low level," it has to be less hazardous than those "associated with a nuclear reactor; generated by hospitals, research laboratories, and certain industries." High-Level Radioactive Waste (HLRW) is waste generated "in core fuel of a nuclear reactor, found at nuclear reactors or by nuclear fuel reprocessing; is a serious threat to anyone who comes near the waste without shielding."

Dr. Helen Caldicott, author of Nuclear Madness, might see such distinction as splitting toxic hairs. In her book, Caldicott famously declares: "As a physician, I contend that nuclear technology threatens life on our planet with extinction. If present trends continue, the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink will soon be contaminated with enough radioactive pollutants to pose a potential health hazard far greater than any plague humanity has ever experienced."

Learn more about nuclear energy.