Module 102 The Nuclear Fuel Cycle

DOE-HDBK-1113-98

Module 102 The Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Lesson Plan

Instructor's Notes

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II.

MODULE 102 - The Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Objectives

EO2

Identify t he sourc es and us es of ura nium.

EO3

Identify the various processes involved in the

nuclear fuel cycle.

Importance of Uranium

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Uranium is a naturally occurring element used primarily for

producing energy with nuclear reactors and developing

nuclear weapons. It is also used for armor plating (depleted

uranium), radiation shielding, and counterweights.

Historically, uranium was used for hundreds of years to

color glass and as a glaze for tile and pottery. Bright

orange "Fiesta-ware" dinner plates were prized for their

color without any awareness of their radioactivity. These

plates are no lo nger prod uced, bu t are now collect ors' it ems

among those in the nuclear indu stry and other s. Typically,

the dose rate is about 5 mrem/hr (0.05 mSv/hr) on contact

with these plates.

The original discovery of radioactivity involved uranium.

In 1896, Henri Becquerel discovered that uranium would

cause photographic film to become fogged because of

radioactive emissions. Some of these emissions were even

more penetrating that the "X rays" that Wilhelm Roentgen

had discovered a year earlier.