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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.
Melvin Reier
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 43 | Number 3 | March 1971 | Pages 267-272
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE71-A19972
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A germanium crystal has been used to measure the absolute intensity of gamma rays from the decay of 238Pu, 212Pb, 212Bi, and 208Tl in a 1 ½-W SNAP-15A heat source. In practically all cases, agreement with other measurements is excellent. In addition, the amount of 236Pu impurity originally present in the sample can be measured with an accuracy of 4%. It is estimated that the 236Pu content in a fuel sample that is several months old can easily be measured with an accuracy of 10%.