Fissile Fuel Reprocessing Issues
Reprocessing refers to the chemical separation of fissionable uranium and plutonium from spent nuclear fuel. The recovery of uranium or plutonium could be subject to the risk of nuclear proliferation. In the United States the regulatory regime has varied dramatically in different administrations.
In the original 1971 Molten Salt Breeder Reactor proposal, uranium reprocessing was scheduled every ten days as part of reactor operation. Subsequently a once-through fueling design was proposed that limited uranium reprocessing to every thirty years at the end of useful salt life. A mixture of uranium-238 was called for to make sure recovered uranium would not be weapons grade. If reprocessing were to be prohibited then the uranium would be disposed with other fission products.
Read more about this topic: Beryllium Moderated Reactors
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