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ABSTRACT
Once nuclear fuel has been irradiated in a reactor, it becomes a spent fuel (SF), which needs to be processed. This article describes the two solutions implemented today in the world to deal with SF: long-term storage followed by final disposal, and the reprocessing of SF intended to recover and recycle reusable materials contained in it. In this article we look not only at the technical aspects, in particular describing the processes involved and industrial tools used, but also at the market of each activity sector. In the second part, we examine generic aspects of the fuel cycle, successively addressing transport, operating waste, economy, safety, dismantling of facilities, and lastly some geopolitical aspects related to the development of the fuel cycle.
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Dominique GRENECHE: Doctor of Science - Consultant and international expert Nuclear Consulting
INTRODUCTION
A general introduction to the fuel cycle (upstream and downstream) is given in the separate article on the upstream fuel cycle. This first article covers all operations in the fuel cycle, from uranium prospecting and mining to the manufacture of nuclear fuel ready for loading into reactors. The present article deals with all operations concerning spent nuclear fuel, i.e. nuclear fuel once it has been permanently discharged from the reactor after having produced energy in that reactor. The article also addresses a number of generic issues linked to the entire fuel cycle: transport of nuclear and radioactive materials, waste generated by the operation of fuel cycle facilities, safety of these facilities, dismantling of these facilities, and geopolitical aspects.
For the introduction to this article, we therefore refer the reader to the generic introduction presented in the first article on the upstream fuel cycle
The Ultimate Scientific and Technical Reference
KEYWORDS
Uranium | nuclear fuel | radioactive waste processing | spent fuel storage
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Nuclear fuel cycle: back end and generic issues
Downstream fuel cycle
Bibliography
The Ultimate Scientific and Technical Reference
