Nuclear power may produce considerably less waste than forms of energy production from fossil fuels, but the waste it does make is extremely hazardous and needs to be handled very carefully. When not disposed of properly, it can cause a variety of cancers and has negative impacts on the surrounding ecosystem. Storing the waste is currently done in large cement enclosures which are very expensive because the waste can take hundreds of thousands of years before becoming inert. A new technique may eliminate radioactive waste by around 90%. .