Dry cask storage

Dry cask storage is like putting your toys in a box and keeping them in your closet for safekeeping.

In the same way, nuclear power plants use dry cask storage to keep any leftover nuclear material safe after they use it to make electricity.

After the nuclear material has been used in the power plant, it is still very hot and can be dangerous. Dry cask storage is a big metal box that is specially designed to keep the nuclear material safe and cool.

The boxes are usually made of thick metal and have layers of insulation to keep the nuclear material at the right temperature. The material is put into the box and then the box is sealed tight.

The boxes are taken to a special storage facility where they are kept away from people and the environment. The nuclear material can stay in the box for a very long time, sometimes up to 100 years or more, until it becomes safe to handle again.

So dry cask storage is like putting something away for a very long time in a special box to keep it safe, like how you might put your toys away in a box to keep them safe.