Before a reactor goes on line, waste is created with the mining of uranium. Once uranium is mined, it is milled. In the milling process a ton of radioactive waste is produced for each four pounds of yellow cake.
Yellow cake is converted into a gas for enrichment.
Four times more waste is generated through enrichment, than useable U 235. Some of the waste generated is used for military hardware such as depleted uranium shells. Enriched uranium, as pellets, is shipped to nuclear power stations throughout the country. About 32,000 fuel rods make up the operating core of a typical medium sized nuclear reactor. Once the reactor goes on line, nuclear corporations release radioactive waste to the adjacent environment or store waste on site for shipment to contaminate another community.