Something that is radioactive contains a substance that produces energy in the form of powerful and harmful rays.
The government has been storing radioactive waste at Fernald for 50 years.
radioactivity (reɪdioʊæktɪvɪti)uncountable noun
...waste which is contaminated with low levels of radioactivity.
radioactive in British English
(ˌreɪdɪəʊˈæktɪv)
adjective
exhibiting, using, or concerned with radioactivity
Derived forms
radioactively (ˌradioˈactively)
adverb
radioactive in American English
(ˌreɪdioʊˈæktɪv)
adjective
giving off, or capable of giving off, radiant energy in the form of particles or rays, as alpha, beta, and gamma rays, by the spontaneous disintegration of atomic nuclei
said of certain elements, as plutonium, radium, thorium, and uranium, and their products
Such radioactive waste can be used to make a dirty bomb.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Spent fuel remains radioactive for tens of thousands of years.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It shouldn't involve teaching them that handling food is like handling radioactive waste.
Joanna Blythman Bad Food Britain (2006)
He said the group decided to remain opposed to it largely due to the high cost and problems of disposing of radioactive waste.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
But the possibility of catastrophic accidents and the problem of disposing of lethal radioactive waste products soon dampened public enthusiasm for nuclear power.
Garraty, John Arthur The American Nation: A History of the United States to 1877 (1995)
As with most clandestine meetings about radioactive waste, something went wrong.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
It would be capable of holding 275,000 cubic metres of waste that would remain radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The site is now the scene of the country's largest radioactive waste clean-up project.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Some of the radioactive waste at Sellafield has been sitting around since the 1950s.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Furthermore, they will remain highly radioactive for 100,000 years.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The judges also dismissed an appeal from Sellafield against a 700,000 fine for dumping radioactive waste in a landfill site.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
But anyone visiting the site of the 1986 nuclear accident is warned to avoid the fungi, which are still highly radioactive because they eat radiation.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
In other languages
radioactive
British English: radioactive /ˌreɪdɪəʊˈæktɪv/ ADJECTIVE
Something that is radioactive contains a substance that produces energy in the form of powerful rays which are harmful in large doses.
...radioactive waste.
American English: radioactive
Arabic: مُشِعّ
Brazilian Portuguese: radioativo
Chinese: 放射性的
Croatian: radioaktivan
Czech: radioaktivní
Danish: radioaktiv
Dutch: radioactief
European Spanish: radiactivo
Finnish: radioaktiivinen
French: radioactif
German: radioaktiv
Greek: ραδιενεργός
Italian: radioattivo
Japanese: 放射性のある
Korean: 방사성의
Norwegian: radioaktiv
Polish: radioaktywny
European Portuguese: radioativo
Romanian: radioactiv
Russian: радиоактивный
Latin American Spanish: radiactivo
Swedish: radioaktiv
Thai: เกี่ยวกับกัมมันตภาพรังสี
Turkish: radyoaktif
Ukrainian: радіоактивний
Vietnamese: phát ra tia phóng xạ
All related terms of 'radioactive'
radioactive dating
the determination of the age of an artifact, bone , rock, etc. based on the known rates of decay of radioactive isotopes of various elements
radioactive decay
disintegration of a nucleus that occurs spontaneously or as a result of electron capture . One or more different nuclei are formed and usually particles and gamma rays are emitted
radioactive series
a series of nuclides each of which undergoes radioactive decay into the next member of the series, ending with a stable element , usually lead
radioactive tracer
a person or thing that traces
radioactive waste
any waste material containing radionuclides
Nuclear Industry Radioactive Waste Executive
a UK organization which oversees and ensures the safe removal of radioactive waste
radiometric dating
any method of dating material based on the decay of its constituent radioactive atoms , such as potassium-argon dating or rubidium-strontium dating