dangers posed by a nearby Air Force training range" (Gehrke). .
Transuranic wastes come from nuclear weapons production and spent fuel reprocessing. Transuranic refers to the "heaviness" of the element. Transuranic waste often looks like ordinary items one would find at any industrial site such as tools, gloves, protective gear, and tarps. Contaminated soil or vegetation is also a result of transuranic waste, which affects the normal living process of every day life. The main risk of this type of waste is that it decays slowly and remains radioactive for a very long time. There is no warning on what is contaminated, only proper analysis can detect items or vegetation exposed to such elements.
Mill tailings are produced at uranium mills. Uranium milling residues are the rock and soil that remain after uranium has been removed from the ore that was mined from the earth. This produces the harmful agent called radon. Radon is a colorless, radioactive, inert gaseous element formed by the radioactive decay of radium. It is used as a radiation source in radiotherapy and to produce neutrons for research. Right now tailings are being left in huge piles near sites where they are being processed. This is a concern for regulators, which are seeking a way in which the waste can be buried underground instead. This could result in future problems if the tailings are buried in a fashion where it would be able to seep into the underground water and pollute the area around it.
Low-level radioactive waste is generated by numerous facilities such as hospitals, research institutions, and private/public laboratories (Ringius 24). Low-level radioactive waste is a major concern due to it being so commonly used in public places, such as hospitals, which in some cases have poor security. The amount of low-level radioactive waste produced is usually described in one of two ways. One way is to give the volume of the waste in cubic feet or cubic meters and the other way is to give the activity.