Storage of nuclear waste a global crisis: report

The title of the article is nonsensical!

However, far,far into the future when the only evidence of this civilization is the higher radioactive discharges, here and there, will future civilizations have an inkling of us........

Based on data provided by the utilities, CNIC estimates Japan' storage facilities for spent fuel rods are at around 85% capacity, mainly in elevated cooling pools next to the pressure vessels, with some rods left in there from 1984 and unable to be moved due to damage when handling them; the Rokkasho waste plant has yet to process a single ingot of glassed fuel due to technical issues; and there is the issue of low and medium level waste, such as gloves, clothing, tools, that must also be stored and disposed of.

Whilst global crisis might be a rather sensational headline, it is a crisis for those countries who continue to use nuclear power, without considering the long term outcome.

There are nuclear fission cycles that use this waste to generate power and reduce the waste by over 90%.

I suppose regulatory hurdles and anti-nuke fears are the main reasons those aren't being used?

There was a suggestion by some students that such waste could be dumped into the volcanoes now erupting and return it to nature. There were other suggestions to send such waste to the sun since the cost is much less than to keep it on earth. All interesting suggestions... but there were no scientists or politicians there to listen and consider.

But, I felt it assuring that youths though in middle school are concerned and are willing to make such suggestions.

Call for Elon Musk.  Surely he has a solution.

Now imagine this problem for non-developed countries! Especially those built for them by Russia or China

What people have to watch out for is that Russia and China have been known for being less strict on control of nuclear waste compared with Japan, the U.S. and European countries. Many of the countries that introduce nuclear power plants for the first time lack a road map for disposal of the spent nuclear fuel. Furthermore, countries building their first nuclear plants are faced with risks of radioactive contamination and theft of nuclear materials by terrorists and other criminal groups.

Moreover, should the safety standards haphazardly established by Russia and China spread to developing countries and become a de facto global standard, the rigorous international control of nuclear materials as envisioned by Japan, the U.S. and Europe will be undermined.

So who's going to take care of those nuclear wastes? Help them build nuclear reactors, but what about helping them taking care of the resulting nuclear wastes too

Perhaps I needed to provide links for stories about using existing nuclear waste for more power?

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/09/leslie-dewan-explorer-moments-nuclear-energy/

https://www.zmescience.com/ecology/what-is-molten-salt-reactor-424343/

Not only do MSRs not have a long term waste issue, they can be used to dispose of current stockpiles of nuclear waste by using those stockpiles as fuel. Even stockpiles of plutonium can be disposed of this way. In fact, conventional reactors typically use only 3-to-5% of the available energy in their fuel rods before the fuel rods must be replaced because of cracking. MSRs can use up most of the rest of the available fuel in these rods to make electricity.

... leaving only elements that are radioactive for a relatively short time (300 years or less).