Fact Sheet: What Is the Uranium Fuel Cycle? (PDF)

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Fact Sheet: What Is the Uranium Fuel Cycle? (PDF)

What is the Uranium Fuel Cycle? Ofce of Radiation and Indoor Air (6608J) EPA 402-F-12-003 | September 2013 Milling of Reprocessing Uranium Ore Reprocessing is the initial Uranium is extracted separation of spent nuclear fuel Repository from ore with strong into its constituent parts. acids or bases. The Reprocessing is currently not uranium is concentrated taking place in the U.S. in a solid substance called “yellowcake.” Chemical Conversion Plants convert the uranium in yellowcake Spent Nuclear Fuel to uranium hexafuoride Used or “spent” nuclear (UF6), a compound fuel is stored in pools, or that can be made into in specially designed dry nuclear fuel. storage casks. Generation of Electricity at Nuclear Enrichment Power Plants Processing facilities Electricity is generated by concentrate uranium235-- nuclear power plants with the form (isotope) that is reactors that use water for capable of undergoing a moderating nuclear reactions nuclear reaction. and cooling. Fabrication of Fuel The enriched uranium is converted Dotted lines show EPAs’ “Environmental Radiation Protection Standards for processes that are into fuel pellets and placed into rods for use in nuclear power plants. Nuclear Power Operations” limit the radiation releases not currently taking and doses to the public from the normal operation of place in the U.S. uranium fuel facilities, including nuclear power plants. What is the Uranium Fuel Cycle? Environmental Radiation Protection Standards for Nuclear Power Operations Federal Register Reference—42 FR The Uranium Fuel Cycle: EPA and Nuclear 2860, Vol. 42, No. 9, January 13, 1977 Environmental Power Operations For more information, visit our website at: www.epa.gov/radiation/laws/190 Considerations EPA’s mission is to protect human health and the environment. EPA sets limits on the amount of Air—Tiny amounts of radioactive elements, such as radiation that can be released into the environment. argon, krypton, xenon, iodine and tritium (a radioactive EPA does not regulate the daily operations of form of hydrogen) get into the air during the normal nuclear power plants or nuclear fuel facilities. operations of nuclear power plants. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Water—Wastewater discharges can contain tiny has regulatory responsibility for licensing and amounts of radioactive hydrogen (tritium) and other oversight of commercial nuclear power facilities, radioactive constituents. Facility wastewater permits and implements EPA’s environmental standards at set strict limits on how much radioactivity can be applicable facilities. discharged to water. Radioactive Wastes—Wastes managed for their radioactive content. Spent Nuclear Fuels—Fuel that has been withdrawn from a nuclear reactor following irradiation, the constituent elements of which have not been separated by reprocessing. .

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FACT SHEET Office of Public Affairs
FACT SHEET Office of Public Affairs Phone: 301-415-8200 Email: [email protected] Uranium Recovery Background The production of fuel for nuclear power plants starts with taking uranium ore from the ground and then purifying and processing it through a series of steps. Uranium recovery focuses on extracting natural uranium ore from the earth and concentrating (or milling) that ore. These recovery operations produce a product, called "yellowcake," which is then transported to a succession of fuel cycle facilities where the yellowcake is transformed into fuel for nuclear power reactors. In addition to yellowcake, uranium recovery operations generate waste products, called byproduct materials, that contain low levels of radioactivity. The NRC does not regulate uranium mining or mining exploration, but does have authority over milling of mined materials and in situ processes used to recover uranium, as well as mill tailings. Today’s conventional uranium mills and in situ recovery (ISR) facilities are operating safely and in a manner that is protective of the environment. The NRC regulates these facilities in close coordination with other Federal agencies and State and Tribal governments and provides technical support and guidance to those Agreement States that have authority over uranium recovery activities. Discussion The NRC becomes involved in uranium recovery operations when the ore is processed and physically or chemically altered. This happens either in a conventional, heap leach uranium mill, or ISR. For that reason, the NRC regulates ISR facilities as well as uranium mills and the disposal of liquid and solid wastes from uranium recovery operations (including mill tailings).
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Spectroscopic Signatures of Uranium Speciation for Forensics
UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones May 2017 Spectroscopic Signatures of Uranium Speciation for Forensics Nicholas Wozniak University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations Part of the Chemistry Commons Repository Citation Wozniak, Nicholas, "Spectroscopic Signatures of Uranium Speciation for Forensics" (2017). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 3063. http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/10986257 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SPECTROSCOPIC SIGNATURES OF URANIUM SPECIATION FOR FORENSICS By Nicholas Robert Wozniak Bachelors of Science – Chemistry Bachelors of Science – Physics Hope College 2012 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy – Radiochemistry Department of Chemistry College of Sciences The Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas May 2017 Dissertation Approval The Graduate College The University of Nevada, Las Vegas April 14, 2017 This dissertation prepared by Nicholas Robert Wozniak entitled Spectroscopic Signatures of Uranium Speciation for Forensics is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy – Radiochemistry Department of Chemistry Ken Czerwinski, Ph.D.
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