ABSTRACT
The nuclear fuel cycle starts with the ore being extracted from the earth and follows it through processing and use until a final waste form is placed back for permanent disposal. The so-called front end of the fuel cycle includes the processes required to prepare the uranium into a form that can be used as fuel in nuclear reactors. In the United States, there is no fuel reprocessing, so by default this implies a once-through fuel cycle. The used fuel is currently stored either in fuel storage pools or dry cask storage at the reactor sites. The short, simple fuel assemblies for the heavy water reactor, called fuel bundles, are easily produced, and Korea, India, Argentina, Romania, and China all have independent fuel fabrication facilities sufficient to meet their demand. Canadian utilities normally meet the base-load requirements of the grid with the most inexpensive source of electrical energy, primarily with hydroelectricity and nuclear power.
