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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Deep Space: The new frontier of radiation controls
In commercial nuclear power, there has always been a deliberate tension between the regulator and the utility owner. The regulator fundamentally exists to protect the worker, and the utility, to make a profit. It is a win-win balance.
From the U.S. nuclear industry has emerged a brilliantly successful occupational nuclear safety record—largely the result of an ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) process that has driven exposure rates down to what only a decade ago would have been considered unthinkable. In the U.S. nuclear industry, the system has accomplished an excellent, nearly seamless process that succeeds to the benefit of both employee and utility owner.
Akihiko Inoue
Nuclear Technology | Volume 90 | Number 2 | May 1990 | Pages 186-190
Technical Paper | Nuclear Fuel | doi.org/10.13182/NT90-A34413
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A method for reprocessing uranium and plutonium mixed-oxide fuel, including uranium dioxide fuel, is presented. The method is based on the oxidation process of the fuel and the dissolution of pulverized fuels (U3O8 and PuO2) in nitric acid. To dissolve Pu02, a uranous nitrate solution prepared from uranyl nitrate by electrolytic reduction is utilized. This reprocessing method has an economic advantage over the conventional Purex process because it does not use an expensive solvent extraction process to separate uranium, plutonium, and fission products. The cost of the process is estimated to be 80% that of the Purex process, and the cost of refabrication does not change greatly because remote operation is not needed. This process also has an advantage over the Purex process from the viewpoint of the diversion resistance of nuclear material because pure plutonium cannot be recovered in the process.
