The nonproliferation of nuclear materials is the key issue in supplying nuclear fuel to foreign countries. This article discusses the use of regenerated uranium to enhance the security of exports of fresh fuel for light-water reactors. It is shown that if the removal of fuel and its replacement with, for example, natural uranium go undetected, the criminals have long periods of time available to obtain a significant amount of highly enriched uranium, having only several tens of separation devices. The nonproliferation regime can be strengthened by using regenerated uranium, which contains in its decay chain 208Tl (2.61 MeV γ-line) and is advantageously distinguished from 235U (186 keV γ-line). It is shown theoretically that by controlling the thallium content the uranium content in the fuel rods can be quickly analyzed before a fuel assembly is loaded into the core.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
A. V. Kuryndin, A. M. Kirkin, I. V. Gusakov-Stanyukovich, et al., “Realized and promising approaches to the return of spent nuclear fuel reprocessing products to the supplier state,” Vopr. At. Nauki Tekhn. Ser. Materialoved. Novye Mater., No. 2(98), 48–59 (2019).
S. V. Ermakov, Yu. D. Pykhtin, I. I. Bumblis, et al., Possible IAEA Safeguarding Procedures for NPP with VVER-1000 Reactors. Technical Recommendations, Preprint TsNIIatominform-M-1–87 (1987).
A. N. Rumyantsev, “Method of quantile estimates of uncertainties,” At. Energ., 102, No. 4, 208–215 (2007).
N. N. Ponomarev-Stepnoi, A. N. Rumyantsev, V. .M. Shmelev, et al., Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Energy: Physical and Technical Problems of Nuclear Energy, Izdat, Moscow (2008), p. 148.
A.Yu. Smirnov, A. N. Shmelev, V. D. Borisevich, et al., “Introduction of recycled uranium into fuel composition of light-water reactors as a protective measure against proliferation,” in: Proc. 11th Workshop on Separation Phenomena in Liquids and Gases, St. Petersburg, Russia, June 13–18, 2010, pp. 211–216.
E. A. Ivanov, V. A. Nevinitsa, N. N. Ponomarev-Stepnoi, et al., “Increasing the security of export supplies of fuel for light-water reactors using reprocessed uranium,” Izv. Vyssh. Uchebn. Zaved. Yad. Energet., No. 3–2, 3–9 (2007).
A. Y. Smirnov, V. A. Nevinitsa, V. M. Shmelev, et al., “The concept of the use of recycled uranium for increasing the degree of security of export deliveries of fuel for light-water reactors,” Phys. At. Nuclei, 73, No. 14, 2264–2270 (2010).
K. Abbas, G. Cojazzi, G. Mercurio, et al., “Proliferation resistance features of reprocessed uranium in light-water reactor fresh fuel,” ESARDA Bull., No. 49, 75–81 (2013).
V. E. Gusev, A. Yu. Smirnov, V. A. Nevinitsa, et al., “Features of light-water reactor fuel made of reprocessed uranium in terms of IAEA safeguards implementation,” in: IOP Conf. Ser.: J. Phys.: Conf. Series, 1133, No. 012041 (2018).
V. Gusev, A. Smirnov, V. Nevinitsa, and Y. Volkov, “Proliferation resistance analysis of LWR fuel in terms of IAEA safeguards implementation,” AIP Conf. Proc., 2101, No. 020007 (2019).
IAEA Safeguards Glossary. International Nuclear Verification Ser., No. 3 (2001).
V. D. Borisevich, M. A. Borshchevskiy, S. Zeng, and D. Jiang, “On ideal and optimum cascades of gas centrifuges with variable overall separation factors,” Chem. Eng. Sci., 116, 465–472 (2014).
Theory of Cascades for the Separation of Binary and Multicomponent Isotopic Mixtures: Textbook, MEPhI, Moscow (2011).
A. A. Orlov, A. F. Tsimbalyuk, and R. V. Malyugin, “Desublimation for purification and transporting UF6: process description and modeling,” Sep. Purif. Rev., 1, No. 46, 81–89 (2017).
A. A. Orlov and R. V. Malyugin, “Way to obtain uranium hexafluoride,” Adv. Mater. Res., 1084, 338–341 (2015).
M. Mujainil, N. Chankow, M. Z. Yusoff, and N. A. Hamid, “Characterization of uranium bearing material using x-ray fluorescence and direct gamma-rays measurement techniques,” AIP Conf. Proc., 1704, No. 040005 (2016).
Passive Non-Destructive Analysis of Nuclear Materials [Russian translation], Izd. Binom, Moscow (2000).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Translated from Atomnaya Énergiya, Vol. 128, No. 6, pp. 337–344, June, 2020.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Volkov, Y.N., Gusev, V.E., Smirnov, A.Y. et al. Security of Export Deliveries of Regenerated-Uranium Light-Water Reactor Fuel from the Standpoint of IAEA Safeguards. At Energy 128, 368–374 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10512-020-00701-8
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10512-020-00701-8