a good read,
http://www.world-nuclear.org/inform...les/countries-t-z/usa-nuclear-fuel-cycle.aspx
US Nuclear Fuel Cycle
(Updated 10 April 2016)
- The USA has nuclear fuel production capacity insufficient for domestic needs. A new enrichment plant is licensed to expand.
- Currently, almost all the uranium used in US commercial reactors is imported. After reaching a peak in 1980, domestic mining now accounts for only 10% of the fuel used in US reactors.
- Between 1977 and 2005, government policy did not allow reprocessing of used fuel for commercial reactors.
DOE said that the GLE and Areva projects represented "an important next step" in planning for potential future uses and clean-up efforts at Paducah as well as reducing the costs to the taxpayer of the clean-up operation. Fluor has a three-year $420 million DOE contract to clean up the Paducah site from 2014.
Silex Systems reported in November 2012 that there was a proposal for GLE to build an additional laser enrichment pant at Paducah, to enrich high-assay DU tails (above 0.34% U-235) owned by the DOE to produce 2000 tU/yr at natural uranium level (0.7% U-235). There is about 150,000 tonnes of these at Paducah and Portsmouth (among a total of 550,000 t tails). In August 2013 GLE submitted a proposal to DOE to establish a "$1 billion" laser enrichment plant at Paducah, and in November the DOE announced that it would proceed with contract negotiations to this end, for enrichment of high-assay tails there. In January 2014 GLE told NRC that though negotiations with the DOE continued, it expected to apply for a licence later in the year to build and operate the Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility. GLE expects licensing to take 2-3 years. Negotiations with the DOE are continuing into 2016. The estimated size is 0.5 to 1.0 million SWU/yr, since purchases of DU may not exceed 2000 t/yr natural uranium equivalent.
The Paducah GLE plant would serve a different market to that proposed for Wilmington, and would become a new source of secondary supply. In the long term it would compete with new mines, rather than other enrichment plants.
At the end of 2013, DOE had about 13,000 tonnes of natural uranium, which it was bartering at the rate of 2400 t/yr to pay for decommissioning and clean-up of its Portsmouth and Paducah facilities. The proposed Paducah Laser Enrichment facility would provide a continuing source of such material beyond 2018.
DOE said that the GLE and Areva projects represented "an important next step" in planning for potential future uses and clean-up efforts at Paducah as well as reducing the costs to the taxpayer of the clean-up operation. Fluor has a three-year $420 million DOE contract to clean up the Paducah site from 2014.
New US enrichment capacity
|
|
Type |
Status |
Capacity (million SWU/yr) |
Start-up |
Commercial production |
| 1 |
Urenco/LES |
Urenco centrifuge |
Operating |
5.9 |
Mid-2010 |
2015 |
| 2 |
USEC |
American Centrifuge |
Construction aborted |
3.8 |
2010 planned, but now on hold |
|
| 3 |
Areva |
Urenco centrifuge |
Deferred |
3.0 then 6.6 |
on hold |
|
| 4 |
GEH/GLE Wilmington |
Laser |
Proposed |
3.5 - 6.0 |
? |
|
| 5 |
GEH/GLE Paducah |
Laser |
Proposed |
0.5-1.0 |
2018
|
|
(20min delay)