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According to world experience, waste uranium hexafluoride is not commercially profitable. This is why the United States, for example, start considering depleted uranium as radioactive waste to be disposed.
Western European companies, such as, for instance, Cogema (France), also don’t regard waste uranium hexafluoride as material for using in the near outlook. So, the company developed technologies to convert UF6 to the safe form for long term storage.
In this view, we can say that trying to get rid of waste uranium hexafluoride and costs for its utilization, some Western European companies signed and are successfully implementing contracts with Minatom’s plants (current name is Rosatom) about supply of waste uranium hexafluoride enriched to about 0.3% officially for reprocessing (additional enrichment):
– In compliance with the contract with the French company Cogema #54-02/60006, regenerated uranium was to be imported for enrichment at the Siberian Chemical Plant (Tomsk-7) in 1992-1993 in the form of uranium protoxide at the amount 150 tons per year, from 1994 and further on in the form of hexafluoride – up to 500 tons per year. The contract expired in 2000.
– According to [10], by 1995 the Siberian Chemical Plant (Tomsk-7) received 759 tons of uranium in the form of oxides and 100 tons in the form of hexafluoride from the French company Cogema.
– According to [2], the Eurodif company (France) was to send under various contracts: in 1996-1999 13887 tons of UF6, in 2000-2003 - 8386 tons of UF6, in 200-2003 – 9815 tons of UF6. The company Urenco (Great Britain) in 1996-2003 was to send 59328 tons of UF6 under the contract, in 2002-2003 – 13676 tons of UF6.
Under these contracts some depleted uranium with enrichment 0.3% (with uranium-235) was to be enriched to the level of natural uranium (0.7%) or the level of enrichment sufficient to produce fresh uranium fuel –3.5-4.95%. During the enrichment most of imported waste uranium hexafluoride is converted to even more depleted uranium in the form of hexafluoride with enrichment of about 0.2%.
Enriched uranium is taken to the country of its origin, while depleted uranium at the amount of 98% of the imported uranium is left in the territory of Russia.
In all about 144 thousand tons of imported waste uranium hexafluoride have been so far stored in Russia. Part of this UF6 is used for internal purposes and in the end up to 125 000 tons of UF6 having 0.1% enrichment is stored for ever in Russia as a material not having economical interest from Uranium enrichment point of view.
As storage grounds the territories of four Rosatom’s plants are used:
– Urals Electrochemical Plant (Sverdlovsk-44),
– Siberian Chemical Plant (Tomsk-7),
– Angarsk Electrolysis Chemical Plant (Angarsk),
– Electrochemical Plant (Krasnoyarsk-45).
UF6 is stored in cylindrical steel containers at industrial grounds in the open air. In each container there are more than 10 tons of UF6. The containers suffer corrosion, which can result in their destruction. According to the data of the Russian Federal Service for Supervision over Nuclear and Radiation Safety, storing containers with waste uranium hexafluoride at industrial grounds of the above indicated plants does not meet current safety requirements.
There were accidents with uranium hexafluoride emissions in the history of the nuclear industry of the USSR. Three persons died as a result of the accidents.
Western European companies, such as, for instance, Cogema (France), also don’t regard waste uranium hexafluoride as material for using in the near outlook. So, the company developed technologies to convert UF6 to the safe form for long term storage.
In this view, we can say that trying to get rid of waste uranium hexafluoride and costs for its utilization, some Western European companies signed and are successfully implementing contracts with Minatom’s plants (current name is Rosatom) about supply of waste uranium hexafluoride enriched to about 0.3% officially for reprocessing (additional enrichment):
– In compliance with the contract with the French company Cogema #54-02/60006, regenerated uranium was to be imported for enrichment at the Siberian Chemical Plant (Tomsk-7) in 1992-1993 in the form of uranium protoxide at the amount 150 tons per year, from 1994 and further on in the form of hexafluoride – up to 500 tons per year. The contract expired in 2000.
– According to [10], by 1995 the Siberian Chemical Plant (Tomsk-7) received 759 tons of uranium in the form of oxides and 100 tons in the form of hexafluoride from the French company Cogema.
– According to [2], the Eurodif company (France) was to send under various contracts: in 1996-1999 13887 tons of UF6, in 2000-2003 - 8386 tons of UF6, in 200-2003 – 9815 tons of UF6. The company Urenco (Great Britain) in 1996-2003 was to send 59328 tons of UF6 under the contract, in 2002-2003 – 13676 tons of UF6.
Under these contracts some depleted uranium with enrichment 0.3% (with uranium-235) was to be enriched to the level of natural uranium (0.7%) or the level of enrichment sufficient to produce fresh uranium fuel –3.5-4.95%. During the enrichment most of imported waste uranium hexafluoride is converted to even more depleted uranium in the form of hexafluoride with enrichment of about 0.2%.
Enriched uranium is taken to the country of its origin, while depleted uranium at the amount of 98% of the imported uranium is left in the territory of Russia.
In all about 144 thousand tons of imported waste uranium hexafluoride have been so far stored in Russia. Part of this UF6 is used for internal purposes and in the end up to 125 000 tons of UF6 having 0.1% enrichment is stored for ever in Russia as a material not having economical interest from Uranium enrichment point of view.
As storage grounds the territories of four Rosatom’s plants are used:
– Urals Electrochemical Plant (Sverdlovsk-44),
– Siberian Chemical Plant (Tomsk-7),
– Angarsk Electrolysis Chemical Plant (Angarsk),
– Electrochemical Plant (Krasnoyarsk-45).
UF6 is stored in cylindrical steel containers at industrial grounds in the open air. In each container there are more than 10 tons of UF6. The containers suffer corrosion, which can result in their destruction. According to the data of the Russian Federal Service for Supervision over Nuclear and Radiation Safety, storing containers with waste uranium hexafluoride at industrial grounds of the above indicated plants does not meet current safety requirements.
There were accidents with uranium hexafluoride emissions in the history of the nuclear industry of the USSR. Three persons died as a result of the accidents.
