Nuclear fuel cycle is a combination of techniques for mining uranium, nuclear reactor fuel production and preparing the fuel for the use and after-use disposal. The notion “fuel cycle” specifies the fact that spent or irradiated nuclear fuel (SNF) can be regenerated after special treatment. The nuclear fuel cycle, including ultimate disposal of high-level waste, takes generally 50 to 100 years.

Nuclear power fuel cycle can be divided into three phases. The initial phase covers uranium ore mining through supply of fabricated fuel assemblies to NPP sites. The next phase includes reactor operation to generate electricity and temporary store SNF at NPP site. The final phase includes several operations: irradiated fuel transportation to a special storage facility or SNF reprocessing plant and burial of vitrified high-level waste after reprocessing.

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