In the U.S., radioactive waste is divided into three main types, classified according to their activity, their heat generation potential, and what they physically contain. These three main levels are low level waste (LLW), transuranic waste (TRU), and high level waste (HLW). For each of these types of waste, there is a specific disposal solution -- above ground storage or shallow burial for low level waste and deep repository storage for transuranic and high level wastes.
In most other countries, nuclear waste is categorized as low level waste, intermediate level waste, and high level waste. The reason for this different classification system is that in the U.S. waste is classified based on where it comes from; in most other countries, waste is classified according to what the effects of the waste might be. In both classifications, low level waste represents about 90% of all radioactive waste.
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