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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.
D. C. Larson
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 78 | Number 4 | August 1981 | Pages 324-332
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE81-A21366
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The 23Na(n,2n) reaction produces the radioactive product 22Na, with a half-life of 2.61 years. For sodium-containing systems this reaction can result in a radioactive contamination problem. Currently available experimental cross sections for this reaction are in strong conflict. Comprehensive nuclear model calculations performed as part of the sodium evaluation for ENDF/B-V are in agreement with one of the experimental data sets. Acceptance of this data set results in an (n,2n) cross section larger than was given in ENDF/B-IV by ∼37% at 15 MeV and by as much as a factor of 4 at 20 MeV.