Deep borehole disposal

Okay kiddo, imagine that you have a bunch of toy cars that you don't like anymore. You want to get rid of them, but you don't want to give them away or throw them in the trash. Instead, you dig a very deep hole in your backyard and put the cars inside it. You cover the hole up and nobody ever sees the cars again.

Well, something similar happens with deep borehole disposal. Instead of toy cars, people want to get rid of something called nuclear waste – which is very dangerous and can hurt people if they're exposed to it. Because of this, the waste needs to be stored somewhere where nobody can get to it.

So, scientists and engineers dig a really, really deep hole in the ground – like over 3 miles deep! They put the nuclear waste down in the hole and then fill it up with special materials so that water and other things can't get in. Then, they seal up the hole and nobody ever sees the waste again.

The reason they do this is because the deep hole is super safe. Nobody can get down there and nobody can accidentally come in contact with the waste. It's really far away from people and it won't hurt anyone. Plus, the waste will eventually break down over time and become less dangerous.

So, just like how you got rid of your toy cars by burying them really deep, scientists use deep borehole disposal to get rid of nuclear waste – keeping everyone safe!