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August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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Front-end nuclear fuel supply cooperation: Turning allied interdependence into strategic advantage
The global nuclear revival, which is fueled by unprecedented demand for firm, affordable, dispatchable power for artificial intelligence and data center build-out, energy security imperatives, and climate commitments, has exposed a structural reality of the Western fuel cycle: No single allied nation currently possesses the full suite of front-end capabilities. From mining through conversion, enrichment, fabrication, and the emerging deconversion and metallization steps required for reactor fuels, capability is distributed across Canada, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States (collectively, the “Sapporo Five”), as well as a small group of close partners.
O. O. Yarbro, J. L. English, T. S. Mackey
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 17 | Number 3 | November 1963 | Pages 492-497
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE63-A17404
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Target rods irradiated in the High Flux Isotope Reactor will be chemically processed for the recovery and decontamination of the various actinide elements produced in the reactor. The processing equipment will be located in four of the nine cubicles and seven tank pits of the Transuranium Processing Plant cell bank. Activity and contamination levels in the process equipment necessitate the use of remote or semiremote maintenance techniques. Maintenance and plant modifications are simplified by a remotely operated piping disconnect developed for this purpose. The choice of materials of construction for the process equipment and piping is limited by the hydrochloric acid environment and intense radioactivity of the process solutions. Hastelloy C appears to be acceptable for low temperature waste service, while only tantalum, Zircaloy-2, or glass is suitable for process equipment.