Nuclear Materials: An Overview

Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Preface
Table of Contents
1. Radioactivity and Radioactive Materials
	Naturally occurring radioactive materials
	Nuclear reactions
	Radioactive series
	Neutron discovery and artificially induced radioactivity
	Self-sustained chain reaction. The path to the release of huge amounts of energy
	References
2. Atoms for Peace
	First post-war nuclear reactors and electricity production
	Creation of the IAEA to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy
	Nuclear material definition: source material and special nuclear material
	The Non-Proliferation Treaty, safeguards, and inspection
	Control and accountability of nuclear material
	Safeguards inspections and surveillance
	References
3. Nuclear Fuel Cycle Overview
	Uranium mining and milling
	Uranium conversion
	Uranium enrichment
	Fuel fabrication
	Fuel burnup during power generation
	Spent fuel interim storage
	Spent fuel reprocessing
	Deconversion and re-enrichment
	References
4. Safety in Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facilities
	Authorization process
	Radiation safety outline
	Safety analysis
	Outline of chemical hazards
	Nuclear criticality safety outline
	The interface between security and safety in the nuclear fuel cycle
	References
5. Overview of Nuclear Reactors
	Some statistics on nuclear reactors
	Nuclear reactor types and their components
	Some milestones in advanced nuclear reactors
	Advanced nuclear fuel development
	Generation IV nuclear reactors
	References
6. Nuclear Reactor Safety
	Three areas of safety measures: radiation safety, nuclear safety, and security
	Safety systems, structures, and components
	Defense-in-depth safety concept
	Redundancy, diversity, and independence principles
	Containment safety concept
	Emergency planning and response
	Safety culture
	Safety in advanced reactors
	References
7. Environmental Impact of Nuclear Materials
	Radioactive waste from mining, milling, and processing
	Radioactive waste from fuel fabrication and reprocessing plants
	Radioactive waste from nuclear reactors
	Spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste management
	Decommissioning of nuclear facilities
	Consideration of future waste from advanced reactors
	References
Index