• Question: If a place is radioactive how do you get rid of the radiation

    Asked by jodium oxygen E to Kate on 8 Nov 2015. This question was also asked by jasmine.
    • Photo: Kate Wright

      Kate Wright answered on 8 Nov 2015:

      Hi, great question!

      You can’t actually get rid of radioactive stuff, only move it somewhere else… If something is radioactive, it decays over time, which means it will be less radioactive (and so less dangerous) in the future. Anything that’s contaminated with radioactive material has to be handled really carefully. A lot of the really bad stuff is stored underwater because the water absorbs a lot of the radiation so it doesn’t get chance to hurt people. Less radioactive waste is buried underground. Some is just stored for now and people are trying to figure out what to do with it in the long term.

      So basically there’s no easy way to stop something from being radioactive, you just have to put it somewhere safe away from people until it decays enough to be safe.

      Hope that answers your question!

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