nuclear fission

It is produced by nuclear fission for use in medical gauges and devices, but can also be a byproduct of nuclear reactors and weapons testing, the agency said.

Like all nuclear fission plants, they are controversial.

It will contain radioactive uranium split by nuclear fission, in a chain reaction which generates a lot of heat.

Left untouched, nuclear fission erupts into a runaway chain reaction that can heat the core of a nuclear plant to thousands of degrees, liquifying the metal around it into radioactive lava.

Because the process of nuclear fission does not burn or oxidize anything, nearly all the fuel used in producing energy at nuclear plants becomes waste without reducing its mass.