Introduction

This chapter provides a detailed sequence of back-end events that depends upon national and power company policies. In the reprocessing cycle the used fuel assemblies are carried to reprocessing plants where unused uranium and plutonium are separated for further use from the wastes created during the fission process. Feelings run high in the debate about nuclear power. On the one hand there are fervent environmental condemnations, and on the other, stern technocratic justifications. The fissile material is used only once rather than repeatedly as in the reprocessing cycle. In the reprocessing cycle the uranium recovered from used fuel elements is returned to fuel manufacturing establishments and, after treatment, is sent to the enrichment plant to have its original uranium-235 content restored. Storage of spent fuel or wastes may occur before and after treatment but separate transport costs are not incurred if consecutive phases in the fuel cycle are located at the same site.