An Overview of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Radioactive Materials Industry

1. An Overview ofthe Nuclear Fuel Cycleand Radioactive MaterialsIndustry Chuck Cain U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region IV Arlington, Texas

2. Implementing Legislation • Atomic Energy Act of 1954 • established the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) • Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 • separated the peaceful uses regulatory function from the weapons function • established the NRC • weapons function eventually included in Department of Energy (DOE)

3. Energy Policy Act of 2005 • Authorizes NRC to regulate naturally occurring material and accelerator-produced material

4. Agreement States • These are States that have agreements with NRC to regulate radioactive materials within their borders (except reactors) • All States in NRC Region IV are Agreement States except Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Idaho, Alaska, and Hawaii

5. Agreement State Map

6. Since 9/11… • …particular attention is paid to security and not only safety (user qualification and equipment)

8. Uranium Mining and Milling • Mining by conventional methods or by In-situ leaching • Ore is < 1% uranium • Mill extracts uranium from ore; rest is tailings • Mill product is uranium oxide (known as yellowcake) and is shipped in 55-gallon drums

9. The Sweetwater Mine & Mill (Wyoming)

11. Atlas Minerals on Colorado River near Moab, UT

14. Typical in situ Leach Well Field

16. Yellowcake belt dryer

17. Yellowcake Product Yellowcake is packaged into 55-gallon drums and prepared for shipment.

19. Facts About Yellowcake • Can be held in hands without harm. • A drum of yellowcake weighs about 1,000 pounds. • Natural uranium contains mostly uranium-238 (99.3%). • We want the U-235 which is only 0.7% of natural uranium.

20. Enriched Uranium • The next challenge is to enrich the uranium (increase the proportion of U-235) • Enrichment plants usually work by gaseous diffusion; therefore, the uranium must be converted to a gas.

21. Conversion Plants Produce UF6 • Yellowcake can be converted to uranium hexafluoride which has a triple point of 147° F • Honeywell, Metropolis, IL • Sequoyah Fuels, Gore, OK (closed)

22. Enrichment Plants • Since an atom of U-238 is larger than an atom of U-235, the atoms can be filtered at a gaseous diffusion enrichment plant. • Uranium must be enriched to ~10% to make nuclear fuel for a reactor.

23. Oak Ridge

24. Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant

25. UF6 is stored in cylinders. This one is rated at 14 tons.

28. Depleted Uranium • Depleted uranium is a waste product of the enrichment process. • Depleted uranium is “depleted” in U-235 (less than 0.7% U-235). • DU can be used for purposes where a heavy mass is needed, such as military projectiles.

31. New Technologies • Gas centrifuge • Louisiana Energy Services • Areva • Laser separation

32. Fuel Fabrication • The enriched UF6 is converted to a powdered chemical form and made into fuel pellets.

37. Spent Fuel • Eventually fuel elements become “poisoned” during the fission process and need to be replaced. • This is considered “high-level” waste. • There is still much good U-235 left in spent nuclear fuel. • The “poisons” (byproduct material) produced during the fission process are high-energy gamma emitters.

38. Spent fuel

39. Spent fuel stored in a fuel pool

40. What’s next for spent fuel? • Several options • store at reactor site in pool • store at site in Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) • burial at geological repository • reprocess (recycle) to separate the remaining good uranium from the waste

41. Arkansas Nuclear One ISFSI

43. Rancho Seco ISFSI

44. Yucca Mountain, Nevada

45. Also, Low-Level Waste • Contaminated or potentially contaminated items such as protective clothing, building materials, tools, etc. • Burial at licensed disposal site such as EnergySolutions (UT or SC), U.S. Ecology (WA)

46. Quantity of Radioactive Material • Unit of measurement - curies or becquerels

47. Half-Life • Time it takes for half of a radioactive material to decay • Cobalt-60, 5 years • Uranium, millions of years • Some materials decay with a half-life in minutes or seconds, such as those for medical use.

48. Dose to Radiation • Units of rems or sieverts • Radiation worker limit is 5 rems • Limit for a member of the public is 100 millirems

49. Uses of Radioactive Materials

50. Kinds of Licenses • Specific • General (e.g., tritium exit signs) • Exempt (e.g., smoke alarms)