MIXED OXIDE FUEL
Q: What is mixed oxide fuel?
A: Mixed oxide fuel is a mixture
of uranium oxide with plutonium oxide. It can be safely
used in commercial nuclear reactors, and has been
successfully used as a fuel source in Europe for more
than 20 years. In the U.S., the National Academy of
Sciences has studied mixed oxide technology and recommends
the process as a preferred means of safely disposing
of surplus plutonium.
Q: Exactly how much plutonium is used in
mixed oxide fuel?
A: A mixed oxide fuel pellet contains
five percent plutonium 239 and 95 percent uranium
238.
Q: Is mixed oxide-fuel a new technology?
A: Not at all. Mixed oxide fuels
have been used successfully in Europe since the early
1970s, with roughly 300,000 mixed oxide fuel rods
used in commercial reactors in Germany, France, Italy,
Belgium, Sweden and the Netherlands. Thirty-one nuclear
power plants worldwide currently use mixed oxide fuel,
and Shaw AREVA MOX Services team companies supply
fuel to 30 of those plants.
Q: Has mixed oxide fuel ever been used in
the U.S.?
A: Yes. Mixed oxide fuel was used
in testing programs in the United States in the 1970s
and 1980s. More than 280 mixed oxide fuel rods were
successfully used at several U.S. plants, including
Quad Cities, Big Rock Point, San Onofre and Ginna.
The programs confirmed that mixed oxide fuel performs
in a comparable manner to uranium fuel.
Q: What modification must a nuclear plant
undergo in order to use mixed oxide fuel?
A: Most U.S. power plants would
require only very minor modification to use mixed
oxide fuel. Some additional radiation protection and
security measures may be required due to the presence
of plutonium.
Also, since the U.S. nuclear industry does not currently
use mixed oxide fuel, nuclear power plant licenses
will need to be amended.
PLUTONIUM
Q: How much energy is in plutonium?
A: Plutonium has enormous energy
value: One gram contains more energy than two tons
of coal or one ton of crude oil. Depending on the
percentage of plutonium used, surplus U.S. weapons
could make enough mixed oxide fuel to operate 10 large
(1,000 Mw) nuclear plants for 10 to 20 years.
Q: Where will the plutonium for mixed oxide
fabrication come from?
A: Primarily from the Department
of Energy’s Pantex facility in Texas, which
is the repository for the majority of U.S. weapons-grade
plutonium, and from plutonium stored at the Savannah
River Site in South Carolina.
Q: How does mixed oxide fuel differ from
uranium fuel currently used in reactors?
A: Mixed oxide fuel will perform
in a very similar manner to conventional uranium fuel
currently used by nuclear utilities. The blended fuel
is in the form of ceramic pellets, which are encased
in metal rods and bundled in fuel assemblies. The
fuel is then loaded and irradiated within the reactor
in the same manner as uranium fuel.
