ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the nuclear fuel cycle, and the necessary industrial installations, from the mining of the ore to the ultimate disposal of wastes. Compared with coal or petroleum-based industries, the history of the nuclear industry is short and its development irregular. The spectacular growth of the 1950s responded to a strong military demand, and was abruptly followed by a decline. The Nuclear Energy Agency of the OECD and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has mounted a program of evaluation of world resources. Apart from CANDU reactors burning natural uranium and fast breeders which only use plutonium as fissile matter, all other reactors need enriched uranium. From the point of view of the environment as well as that of the protection of operating personnel, reprocessing is the phase of the fuel cycle which deserves the greatest attention.
