{"686991":{"#nid":"686991","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Nuclear Waste: What It Is \u2014 and What It Isn\u2019t","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen people hear \u201cnuclear waste,\u201d they often imagine glowing green sludge leaking into the ground \u2014 a scene straight out of science fiction. The truth is far less dramatic and far more manageable. In fact, all the civilian nuclear waste produced by U.S. power plants so far could fit on a single football field stacked just 10 yards high. Managed under strict safety protocols, this byproduct of nuclear energy poses manageable risk compared to the billions of tons of greenhouse gases from fossil fuels. Today, researchers at Georgia Tech and around the world are working on safer reactor designs, advanced monitoring, and innovative recycling methods to turn nuclear waste into new opportunities \u2014 from clean energy to ultra-long-lasting batteries and even power for space missions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/node\/44646\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERead more \u00bb\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen people hear \u201cnuclear waste,\u201d they often imagine glowing green sludge leaking into the ground \u2014 a scene straight out of science fiction. The truth is far less dramatic and far more manageable. In fact, all the civilian nuclear waste produced by U.S. power plants so far could fit on a single football field stacked just 10 yards high. Managed under strict safety protocols, this byproduct of nuclear energy poses manageable risk compared to the billions of tons of greenhouse gases from fossil fuels. Today, researchers at Georgia Tech and around the world are working on safer reactor designs, advanced monitoring, and innovative recycling methods to turn nuclear waste into new opportunities \u2014 from clean energy to ultra-long-lasting batteries and even power for space missions.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Nuclear waste can be managed safely with proper safety protocols. Researchers at Georgia Tech and around the world are working on safer reactor designs, advanced monitoring, and innovative recycling methods to turn nuclear waste into new opportunities \u2014 f"}],"uid":"27255","created_gmt":"2025-12-18 19:42:21","changed_gmt":"2025-12-30 15:01:11","author":"Josie Giles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-12-18T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2025-12-18T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"678901":{"id":"678901","type":"image","title":"1.-MarthaGroverTeam.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EMartha Grover, professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, with her research team. [Photo by Christopher McKenney]\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1767106727","gmt_created":"2025-12-30 14:58:47","changed":"1767106727","gmt_changed":"2025-12-30 14:58:47","alt":"Georgia Tech Professor Martha Grover with her research team","file":{"fid":"262994","name":"1.-MarthaGroverTeam.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/12\/30\/1.-MarthaGroverTeam.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/12\/30\/1.-MarthaGroverTeam.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":5334947,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/12\/30\/1.-MarthaGroverTeam.jpg?itok=hG_9ee7m"}}},"media_ids":["678901"],"groups":[{"id":"372221","name":"Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"367481","name":"SEI Energy"},{"id":"1280","name":"Strategic Energy Institute"}],"categories":[{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"193652","name":"Matter and Systems"},{"id":"39491","name":"Renewable Bioproducts"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:priya.devarajan@research.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EPriya Devarajan\u003C\/a\u003E || SEI Communications Program Manager\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}