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The Nuclear Fuel Cycle - Click to view
The Nuclear Fuel Cycle - Click to view

The Nuclear Fuel Cycle

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Nuclear fuel cycle transports are commonly designated as either front end or back end.

 The front end covers all the operations from the mining of uranium to the manufacture of new fuel assemblies for loading into the reactors, i.e. the transport of uranium ore concentrates to uranium hexafluoride conversion facilities, from conversion facilities to enrichment plants, from enrichment plants to fuel fabricators and from fuel fabricators to the various nuclear power plants. The back end covers all the operations concerned with the spent fuel which leaves the reactors, i.e. the shipment of spent fuel elements from nuclear power plants to reprocessing facilities for recycling, and the subsequent transport of the products of reprocessing. Alternatively, if the once-through option is chosen, the spent fuel is transported to interim storage facilities pending its final disposal.

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