Uranium - Past and Future Challenges

Uranium - Past and Future Challenges
Author: Broder J. Merkel
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 887
Release: 2014-08-28
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319110594

This book is the collection of papers from the latest International Uranium Mining and Hydrogeology Conference (UMH VII) held in September 2014, in Freiberg, Germany. It is divided to five sessions: Uranium Mining, Uranium and Phosphates, Clean-up technologies for water and soil. Uranium and daughter nuclides and basic research and modeling. Each session covers a wide range of related topic and provides readers with up to date research and solutions on those matters.

Uranium, Mining and Hydrogeology

Uranium, Mining and Hydrogeology
Author: Broder J. Merkel
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 977
Release: 2008-09-30
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3540877460

Subject of the book is Uranium and its migration in aquatic environments. The following subjects are emphasised: Uranium mining, Phosphate mining, mine closure and remediation, Uranium in groundwater and in bedrock, biogeochemistry of Uranium, environmental behavior, and modeling. Particular results from the leading edge of international research are presented.

Forty Years of Uranium Resources, Production and Demand in Perspective

Forty Years of Uranium Resources, Production and Demand in Perspective
Author: OECD Nuclear Energy Agency
Publisher: OECD Publishing
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2006
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

The "Red Book", jointly prepared by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy Agency, is a recognised world reference source on the uranium industry. This publication collates and analyses key information drawn from the twenty editions of the Red Book published between 1965 and 2004, in order to set out a comprehensive review of developments in the world uranium industry from the birth of civilian nuclear energy through to the beginning of the 21st century. It summarises developments in the major uranium-producing countries and topics covered include: installed nuclear capacity, reactor-related uranium requirements, market price, exploration, resources, production, natural and enriched uranium inventories, thorium, mine start-up and closure histories, environmental aspects of uranium mining and processing.

Depleted Uranium Induced Petkau Effect

Depleted Uranium Induced Petkau Effect
Author: Svetlana Zunic
Publisher: Nova Science Publishers
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016
Genre: Depleted uranium
ISBN: 9781634840460

The primary objective of this study is to contribute to a better understanding of the interaction of depleted uranium as a source of low dose radiation with the living world and humans in a contaminated environment. There has been increased interest in biological effects of low dose radiation after the incident in Chernobyl. Uncertainty of epidemiological studies about the health effects of low-dose radiation arises from the fact that the biological effects of low-dose radiation do not relate obligatory to DNA damage. Military use of depleted uranium (DU) for decades put the problem of low-dose radiation exposure in the spotlight. The explanation related to the limited effects of Ñ-emitting nuclear weapons, including DU, was based to some extent on the fact that alpha particles have a short track in air. This paradigm has changed with the realisation that nano- and micro-sized particles of DU could have a global atmospheric movement. The idea about the spreading of uranium particles through air masses across the globe arose from the results of air pollution measurement. Due to uncontrolled military use of high amounts (a thousand tons) of depleted uranium, numerous unusual environmental physical manifestations were recorded in the last two or three decades. Simultaneous monitoring of natural phenomena on Earth and in the atmosphere has revealed an exceptional parallelism between the phenomena in the environment and in the living world. Our knowledge has evolved from in-vitro studies of radiation exposure to a more comprehensive understanding of unexpected and poorly understood natural phenomena, whose consequences may be achievable according to the theory of litosphere-atomsphere-ionospehere and biosphere coupling. The emission of radiation in the course of several decades due to corrosion of scattered remnants of DU armaments, which has been intensified by the repeated bombing of the regions within the range of the transfer of radioactive particles through the air, strikes a broad territory and numerous populations, and unavoidably leads to in-vivo Petkau effect. The Petkau effect is a challenge for science to declare the future health strategy with the main goal focused on minimising the early as well as delayed in-vivo effects of depleted uranium. As inhaled air is the main source of internal contamination, further research on this topic is valuable, especially in terms of overcoming inter-individual variability. The authors propose a simple model based on apoptotic parameters and artificial network method for individualised estimation of tissue response to low-dose tobacco exposure. Non-targeted effects of radiation are time-evolving and can lead to delayed health effects, including cancerogenesis. The authors discuss the importance of an individual approach to the diagnosis and selection of appropriate therapy, based not only on the results of the expression analysis, but also on metabolic and apoptotic tissue properties. Humanity is the main subject of the authors' study. Understanding the basic principles of cell biology and radiation interaction with living matter is supported by authentic medical data obtained from patients originating from the territories which were geographically close to each other (Serbia and Montenegro seaside, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina, the territories of the former Yugoslavia).

Uranium Enrichment and Nuclear Weapon Proliferation

Uranium Enrichment and Nuclear Weapon Proliferation
Author: Allan S. Krass
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 325
Release: 2020-11-20
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 100020054X

Originally published in 1983, this book presents both the technical and political information necessary to evaluate the emerging threat to world security posed by recent advances in uranium enrichment technology. Uranium enrichment has played a relatively quiet but important role in the history of efforts by a number of nations to acquire nuclear weapons and by a number of others to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. For many years the uranium enrichment industry was dominated by a single method, gaseous diffusion, which was technically complex, extremely capital-intensive, and highly inefficient in its use of energy. As long as this remained true, only the richest and most technically advanced nations could afford to pursue the enrichment route to weapon acquisition. But during the 1970s this situation changed dramatically. Several new and far more accessible enrichment techniques were developed, stimulated largely by the anticipation of a rapidly growing demand for enrichment services by the world-wide nuclear power industry. This proliferation of new techniques, coupled with the subsequent contraction of the commercial market for enriched uranium, has created a situation in which uranium enrichment technology might well become the most important contributor to further nuclear weapon proliferation. Some of the issues addressed in this book are: A technical analysis of the most important enrichment techniques in a form that is relevant to analysis of proliferation risks; A detailed projection of the world demand for uranium enrichment services; A summary and critique of present institutional non-proliferation arrangements in the world enrichment industry, and An identification of the states most likely to pursue the enrichment route to acquisition of nuclear weapons.

Analysis of Uranium Supply to 2050

Analysis of Uranium Supply to 2050
Author: International Atomic Energy Agency
Publisher:
Total Pages: 124
Release: 2001
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

This report contains the first International Atomic Energy Agency projection of uranium supply and demand to 2050 and provides an understanding of how some alternative uranium supply scenarios could evolve over the period. The analysis is based on the current knowledge of uranium resources and production facilities, and takes into account the premise that they can operate with minimal environmental impact and employ the best practices in planning, operations, decommissioning and closure.

Contesting The Future Of Nuclear Power: A Critical Global Assessment Of Atomic Energy

Contesting The Future Of Nuclear Power: A Critical Global Assessment Of Atomic Energy
Author: Benjamin K Sovacool
Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2011-05-05
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9813107979

This book provides a concise but rigorous appraisal about the future of nuclear power and the presumed nuclear renaissance. It does so by assessing the technical, economic, environmental, political, and social risks related to all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle, from uranium mills and mines to nuclear reactors and spent fuel storage facilities. In each case, the book argues that the costs of nuclear power significantly outweigh its benefits. It concludes by calling for investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency as a better path towards an affordable, secure, and socially acceptable future.The prospect of a global nuclear renaissance could change the way that energy is produced and used the world over. Sovacool takes a hard look at who would benefit — mostly energy companies and manufacturers — and who would suffer — mostly taxpayers, those living near nuclear facilities, and electricity customers. This book is a must-read for anyone even remotely concerned about a sustainable energy future, and also for those with a specific interest in modern nuclear power plants.

Uranium for Nuclear Power

Uranium for Nuclear Power
Author: Ian Hore-Lacy
Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
Total Pages: 490
Release: 2016-02-19
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0081003331

Uranium for Nuclear Power: Resources, Mining and Transformation to Fuel discusses the nuclear industry and its dependence on a steady supply of competitively priced uranium as a key factor in its long-term sustainability. A better understanding of uranium ore geology and advances in exploration and mining methods will facilitate the discovery and exploitation of new uranium deposits. The practice of efficient, safe, environmentally-benign exploration, mining and milling technologies, and effective site decommissioning and remediation are also fundamental to the public image of nuclear power. This book provides a comprehensive review of developments in these areas. - Provides researchers in academia and industry with an authoritative overview of the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle - Presents a comprehensive and systematic coverage of geology, mining, and conversion to fuel, alternative fuel sources, and the environmental and social aspects - Written by leading experts in the field of nuclear power, uranium mining, milling, and geological exploration who highlight the best practices needed to ensure environmental safety

Wastelanding

Wastelanding
Author: Traci Brynne Voyles
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
Total Pages: 333
Release: 2015-05-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1452944490

Wastelanding tells the history of the uranium industry on Navajo land in the U.S. Southwest, asking why certain landscapes and the peoples who inhabit them come to be targeted for disproportionate exposure to environmental harm. Uranium mines and mills on the Navajo Nation land have long supplied U.S. nuclear weapons and energy programs. By 1942, mines on the reservation were the main source of uranium for the top-secret Manhattan Project. Today, the Navajo Nation is home to more than a thousand abandoned uranium sites. Radiation-related diseases are endemic, claiming the health and lives of former miners and nonminers alike. Traci Brynne Voyles argues that the presence of uranium mining on Diné (Navajo) land constitutes a clear case of environmental racism. Looking at discursive constructions of landscapes, she explores how environmental racism develops over time. For Voyles, the “wasteland,” where toxic materials are excavated, exploited, and dumped, is both a racial and a spatial signifier that renders an environment and the bodies that inhabit it pollutable. Because environmental inequality is inherent in the way industrialism operates, the wasteland is the “other” through which modern industrialism is established. In examining the history of wastelanding in Navajo country, Voyles provides “an environmental justice history” of uranium mining, revealing how just as “civilization” has been defined on and through “savagery,” environmental privilege is produced by portraying other landscapes as marginal, worthless, and pollutable.