What does nuclear waste look like? How much, in terms of volume and weight, is generated per year from a nuclear power plant? How long does it remain “hot.”
It doesn’t glow green Nuclear fuel - Wikipedia
there is both high, intermediate and low level waste. besides the fuel waste, the reactor vessel and pipes and system and enclosure all become radioactive. other things in a radio active environment are waste because of contamination like clothing.
half-life is an important concept to understand this issue. some of the material will be dangerous for hundreds of thousands of years.
Nuclear waste is a broad term that encompasses everything from gloves and clothing that may be lightly or just potentially contaminated, all the way up to spent nuclear fuel rods, comprised of a mixture of residual fuel and fission products.
Low-level waste therefore looks like used clothing, worn out/broken mechanical parts, and waste water.
High-level fuel waste looks generally looks like metal. Another high-level waste is contaminated ion-exchanger resin.
None of the waste has any appearance that would indicate that it was radioactive to human senses. In particular, it doesn’t glow green.