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By that standard, the REEs required for solar definitely aren't 100% clean.

Disposing of nuclear waste is actually a big deal in the US. Last I heard, nuclear waste is kept on-site or close by since the Yucca mountain storage facility was never built[1]. These storage facilities weren't built or meant for long-term storage and could potentially (likely?) have radiation leaks.

edited to add links

[1] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-does-the-us-...

[2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2019/05/31/new-map-...

>not that big of a deal

also known as 'who cares, we won't be here'

Maybe more the opposite: in the long enough term radioactive materials are just ugly rocks. It's more the short term storage in the here and now that is the concern for most people, because they are understandably afraid of DNA damage and cancer.