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The busyness of the nuclear fuel supply chain
Ken Petersenpresident@ans.org
With all that is happening in the industry these days, the nuclear fuel supply chain is still a hot topic. The Russian assault in Ukraine continues to upend the “where” and “how” of attaining nuclear fuel—and it has also motivated U.S. legislators to act.
Two years into the Russian war with Ukraine, things are different. The Inflation Reduction Act was passed in 2022, authorizing $700 million in funding to support production of high-assay low-enriched uranium in the United States. Meanwhile, the Department of Energy this January issued a $500 million request for proposals to stimulate new HALEU production. The Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2024 includes $2.7 billion in funding for new uranium enrichment production. This funding was diverted from the Civil Nuclear Credits program and will only be released if there is a ban on importing Russian uranium into the United States—which could happen by the time this column is published, as legislation that bans Russian uranium has passed the House as of this writing and is headed for the Senate. Also being considered is legislation that would sanction Russian uranium. Alternatively, the Biden-Harris administration may choose to ban Russian uranium without legislation in order to obtain access to the $2.7 billion in funding.
Brian J. Laundy, Owen N. Jarvis
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 24 | Number 2 | September 1993 | Pages 150-160
Technical Paper | Experimental Device | doi.org/10.13182/FST93-A30221
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A simple computer model of the Joint European Torus (JET) tokamak has been constructed, using the neutron transport code McBEND, to assist in the interpretation of point neutron source data used for empirical calibrations of fission chambers placed near the tokamak to measure the total neutron emission from deuterium and deuterium-tritium plasmas, A satisfactory simulation of the experimental data using a 252Cf neutron source is obtained. In particular, the preferential moderation and absorption of 252Cf neutrons, compared with plasma neutrons, resulting from the buildup of equipment around the tokamak in recent years is demonstrated; this differentiation between neutron sources is a consequence of the use of a concrete filler in the spaces between the toroidal field (TF) coils. An unexpected increase in detector response is explained by the substitution of Freon for water as the TF coil coolant. Finally, the McBEND calculations are found to predict correctly the relative responses of both 235U and 238U fission chambers to 2.5- and 14-MeV plasma neutrons.
