Is there any possible way to store nuclear waste safely and without causing any come to the planet? First of all, let me start by explaining how nuclear energy works. The nuclear fuel that nuclear plants use is contained in metal tubes called fuel rods. They are 12 feet high and contain Uranium pallets. Uranium is a naturally occurring mineral that people mine from in the earth. The rods are completely safe to handle until they are put in the reactor. In the reactor core the atoms of the uranium split! This causes them to get hot and water used as a coolant turns to steam in the reactor core. The steam turns the turbine that powers the generator and electricity is produced! After 4 or 5 Years the rods are taken out of the reactor core. The rods are stored in pools called spent fuel pools T