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Undeclared uranium hitches a ride on cobalt exports from Congo, study says
Philippe (left) and Manzuk quantified the amount of uranium that has been exported from the DRC in cobalt shipments or left behind in the environment. (Photo: Joel Hallberg/UW–Madison)
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Princeton University have published a study in Nature Communications that calls attention to a blind spot in nuclear nonproliferation: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has exported thousands of metric tons of uranium, and there is no accounting for where it has gone.
In partnership with Lighthouse Reports and the Financial Times, UW–Madison nuclear engineering professor and nuclear security expert Sébastien Philippe and Ryan Manzuk, a geologist and research fellow in Philippe’s group and at Princeton, conducted the study using countrywide mineralization and geochemical data.
Robert S. Sellers, Wei-Jen Cheng, Brian C. Kelleher, Mark H. Anderson, Kumar Sridharan, Chaur-Jeng Wang, Todd R. Allen
Nuclear Technology | Volume 188 | Number 2 | November 2014 | Pages 192-199
Technical Paper | Materials for Nuclear Systems | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-95
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Molten FLiNaK salt [46.5%LiF-11.5%NaF-42%KF (mol%)] has been proposed for use as a secondary reactor coolant and medium for transfer of high-temperature process heat from nuclear reactors to chemical plants. Two alloys—Hastelloy-N superalloy (Hastelloy-N) and Type 316L stainless steel alloy (316L steel)—were exposed to molten FLiNaK salt in a 316L steel crucible under argon cover gas at 850°C for 1000 h. Graphite was also introduced into the test with the goal of studying the corrosion behavior of relevant reactor material combinations. The results show that corrosion of 316L steel occurred primarily through surface depletion of Cr. Contrarily, Hastelloy-N experienced weight gain due to the electrochemical plating of corrosion products, Fe and Cr, derived from the 316L steel crucible. The graphite sample enhanced the corrosion of the 316L steel sample and crucible, which induced the formation of (Cr,Fe)7C3 and (Mo,Cr,Fe)2C carbides on the surface of graphite. These carbide formations were attributed to the nonelectric transfer between 316L steel and graphite. Besides reducing the availability of chromium to plate, the presence of graphite did not change the basic corrosion of the 316L steel and plating process of Hastelloy-N.