Speaker
Description
With the population growth and the technological advances, the demand for efficient and environmentally friendly electric power sources is a certainty that all countries will face in a near future. Despite the usual concepts of green energy, one must agree that nuclear energy is one of the few technologies current available with low carbon emissions and is highly efficient. The raw material necessary in nuclear power plants is the nuclear fuel obtained through the enrichment of the uranium isotope, 235U, present in the uranium ore. All commercial technologies of uranium enrichment are based on processing uranium hexafluoride (UF6) which must be handled properly due to the great chemical reactivity. Thus, any plant that process UF6 must have the capacity to treat the hydrolysis products that can expose the substance to the atmosphere which will result as process waste. The main goal of this article is to present a case study of the waste management of the Brazilian Uranium Enrichment Plant, that process low enriched uranium, up to 5% of 235U, with the purpose to produce the fuel necessary to supply the Brazilian commercial nuclear plants. In this article, it is shown the radiological and toxicological aspects of the UF6, the means to neutralize the handle gaseous, liquid and solid effluents of a Uranium Enrichment Plant.
| Speaker's title | Mr |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Amazul |
