[en] Uranium conversion and enrichment are discussed in 5 papers by representatives of the USA, Great Britain and Switzerland. The state of the art is reviewed, and future prospects are given. Supply assurance is directly related to the necessary production capacities and the supply agreements

[en] This work illustrates a calculation code designed to provide a materials balance for the electro nuclear fuel cycle. The calculation method is simplified but relatively precise and employs a progressive tabulated data approach

[en] The company has been dormant since May 1981 when the assets it was administering for the federal government of Canada, the stockpile of uranium concentrates, were transferred to Eldorado Nuclear Limited. Uranium Canada Limited was charged, together with five Canadian uranium producers, under the Combines Investigation Act with conspiring to prevent or lessen competition in Canada of the production, purchase, sale or supply of uranium and other uranium substances. The Supreme Court of Ontario and the Court of Appeal of Ontario declared the corporation immune from prosecution under the act

[en] This report gives a calculation of costs for the handling and final storage of spent nuclear fuel in accordance with the KBS plans. The first report deals with the handling and final storage of vitrified high level waste, while the second deals with the direct disposal of spent nuclear fuel. In both cases, the proposed facilities are designed to handle all the fuel discharged from 13 reactors over a period of 30 years of operation, corresponding to about 9000 metric tons of uranium. In reality, it may be necessary to dispose of waste in accordance with both alternatives. The initial and operating costs have been calculated in 1978 monetary values for each alternative. Reprocessing is assumed to take place abroad, and the costs for this reprocessing are not specified in this report. The costs specified therefore do not reflect the total cost of the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle, but rather only the cost of the stages studied by KBS. The total costs for the vitrified reprocessing waste alternative have been calculated to be SEK 9000 million, while the total costs for the alternative with direct disposal of unreprocessed spent fuel have been calculated to be SEK 13 500 million. This does not include VAT or costs for the handling and disposal of low- and medium-level waste, nor does it include costs for decommissioning. The cost per produced kWh has been calculated with a real interest rate of 4 per cent, in which case it is about 0.004 SEK/kWh for both alternatives. Cost calculations for facilities that are to be built and operated for such a long period of time as we are concerned with here cannot, for natural reasons, be anything other than approximate. The merit of the present calculation over such a long period of time is also dubious. (G.B.)

[en] This annotated bibliography reviews selected literature published through August 1991 on the identification of perceived risks and methods for estimating the economic impacts of risk perception. It updates the literature review found in Argonne National Laboratory report ANL/EAIS/TM-24 (February 1990). Included in this update are (1) a literature review of the risk perception process, of the relationship between risk perception and economic impacts, of economic methods and empirical applications, and interregional market interactions and adjustments; (2) a working bibliography (that includes the documents abstracted in the 1990 report); (3) a topical index to the abstracts found in both reports; and (4) abstracts of selected articles found in this update

[en] A short introduction on the recycle of uranium and plutonium is presented. The uranium world market at present, the prices during the last few years, the actual requirements and those for the years 1978-1983 are given. In a special paragraph the present resources of uranium in Israel as well as the extraction possibilities are discussed. (B.G.)

[en] The paper summarizes the Italian nuclear power station programme, recently approved by the Government, and illustrates the main reasons for the programme, which are in line with those presented at the Geneva Conference in 1971, and which lead to the consideration that nuclear energy is the main source for meeting practically all new electric power requirements in Italy. The implementation of this programme involves considerable nuclear fuel-cycle services, ranging from uranium supply to waste disposal. The industrial strategy to meet these needs is discussed. Technical and economic factors affecting such strategy, both for the fuel cycle as a whole and for its individual phases, are considered. Attention is focused on problems typical of the Italian situation and on various ways of solving them. A prominent feature of the Italian situation is the lack of sizeable domestic uranium resources, which makes it even more important to try, by local industrial efforts, to cover the phases of the cycle subsequent to uranium supply, so as to increase as much as possible the fraction of added value produced inside the country. The present status of the Italian nuclear fuel-cycle industry is reviewed in detail, and its capability of supporting the nuclear programme is analysed. Future development plans are discussed, taking into account the possibility of European co-operation. While the focus is on short- and medium-term programmes, the long-term nuclear programmes are discussed, such as those based on fast breeders, and stress is laid on the need to build up as quickly as possible a strong nuclear fuel-cycle industry. (author)

[en] The report concerns the possibilities of extracting uranium from seawater using either 'tidal' and 'pumped' schemes. It was decided to undertake an initial exercise on the pumped scheme. It was to take into account not only the direct energy requirements, but also the indirect energy inputs needed to produce the capital equipment, operating materials, etc. The report begins with a discussion of the technique of energy accounting, and the merits and limitations of the two principal approaches are compared. These are: 'Process Analysis' (or 'Energy Cost of Materials') and 'Input-Output Analysis' (or 'Energy Cost of Money'). A comparison is made between the energy cost of the tidal and pumped schemes, by both methods of analysis. A 'Best Estimate' is compiled calling on both methods, and this indicates that on an energy cost basis the pumped scheme is three times as expensive as the tidal scheme. Intermediate schemes are feasible, however. There is some evidence that the energy cost of an ore refining process with an initial concentration of 0.007% would be of the same order as that of the pumped seawater scheme. The energy cost of generating electricity using seawater uranium in an SGHWR is compared with the present UK generating system as a whole. (U.K.)

[en] Summaries of twenty three papers are presented which deal with the following aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle. (1) reprocessing, (2) plutonium recycle, (3) economics, (4) uranium resources, and (5) enrichment. (U.S.)

[en] This paper traces the history of the denatured fuel concept and discusses the characteristics of fuel cycles based on the concept. The proliferation resistance of denatured fuel cycles, the reactor types they involve, and the limitations they place on energy generation potential are discussed. The paper concludes with some remarks on the outlook for such cycles