Dry cask storage is a method of storing the radioactive waste from nuclear reactors. Dry cask storage refers to the containers that hold the waste and the system of storing the waste above ground in containers.

After World War II, nuclear power plants began generating electricity. By the close of the twentieth century, reactors at nuclear power plants generated 20% of the electricity in the United States. To produce electricity, uranium is used as fuel. Each tiny uranium pellet produces almost as much energy as a ton of coal. The pellets are contained in long metal rods, and these rods are placed in a fuel assembly that hold from 50 to 300 rods.

The uranium undergoes fission, a process that heats water and converts it to steam. The steam propels the blades of a turbine. This in turn spins the shaft of a generator where electricity is...