Reprocessing
Spent nuclear fuel typically contains about 96 percent U-238, less than
1 percent U-235, and about 1 percent plutonium. The remainder is waste products,
most of which are highly radioactive. Some countries, such as
France, Japan, and Russia, reprocess the fuel used in their nuclear
power reactors to extract the uranium and plutonium for reuse
in the fuel cycle.
In reprocessing, the spent fuel is chopped up, dissolved in acid,
and separated into its chemical components. The uranium recovered
by reprocessing can be converted into UF6, re-enriched, and fabricated
into nuclear fuel for energy production. Most of the plutonium
can be blended with enriched uranium to make mixed-oxide fuel,
or MOX, which can also be used to produce energy.
If spent fuel is reprocessed, the plutonium
separated by reprocessing could be used to make nuclear explosives.
India, Israel, and North Korea are believed to have used this
method to produce plutonium for use in nuclear weapons. Although
it is more difficult to use reactor-grade plutonium in an explosive
device, plutonium intended for use in MOX fuel could also be stolen
or diverted to make an improvised nuclear device.
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