By creating energy, the nuclear industry pollutes: it produces tons of radioactive waste that will remain dangerous for thousands of years. Nuclear fuel is so dangerous that it must never be brought into contact with the environment.

Byproducts from nuclear activity must be disposed of in a very carefully regimented way. Radioactive waste can take the form of different states of matter, including gas, solids and liquids. Depending on the waste's source, the radioactivity can last from a few hours to hundreds of thousands of years. If disposed of improperly, radioactive waste can devastate the environment, ruining air, water and soil quality. 

Some of the harm from improperly disposed material includes:

- Affecting Wildlife: One only need look to the Chernobyl disaster to see what the effects of radiation can be on wildlife in the area. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the event was 30 years ago, most of the animals are deemed to be affected by radioactivity. This manifests in reduced brain sizes, physical deformities, and other concerns that impact the survival of these creatures.

- Affecting  Flora: Plant life is also susceptible to damage from nuclear radioactive waste. After Chernobyl, an entire pine forest needed to be destroyed because it was affected by radiation. Not to mention, radioactive soils and plants dissuade bees and other important creatures from fertilizing and helping flora grow, which again, serves to impact future generations.

Radioactive waste is very diverse in terms of radioactivity, lifetime, volume or nature (scrap, rubble, oils, etc.). Each type of waste requires a long-term treatment and management solution adapted to control the risks presented, in particular the radiological risk. In France, each category of waste is managed in a particular pipeline, which includes a series of operations such as sorting, processing, packaging, storage and storage of ultimate waste.

For about 90% of the volume of final waste produced, there are currently sustainable management solutions that are already being implemented. Other wastes are packaged and stored in safe facilities pending a long-term management solution.

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