Radioactive waste is waste that constains radoactive materials or substances and it is generally produced by nuclear power plants.
It is very well known that radiation can have harmful effects when we exposed it to living beings. For instance, radiation can kill our cells, damage our blood vessels and even damage or destroy our organs.
Similarly, radiation also has harmful effects on solid materials. Although metal can not be corroded by radiation, radiation may degrade their properties.
When exposed to radiation, metals harden, which strengthens their material, but, subsequently, it softens (that is, radiation also lowers the toughess of the metal) and, for this reasons, radiation may produce some fractures in the metal surface.
This damage occurs as a result of knocking atoms out of their sites through the initial interaction between the material and radiation, leading to the creation of defects, disruptions and dislocations in the metal.
Some materials, like lead for example, can effectively attenuate and diminish radiation since of its high density and high atomic number in its structure. Lead is effective at stopping gamma rays and x-rays and it is capable of withstanding radiation.