skip to contentsThe Nuclear Fuel Chain

The diagram below shows the links from Uranium mining through to Decommissioning and the legacy of nuclear waste. Click on any of the 11 main images to take you to the relevant section of the written description of the nuclear fuel chain, or go to the introduction to these topics.

All stages of the complex nuclear fuel chain consume energy, but just the two major ones are indicated; some have significant direct CO2 outputs due to their use of diesel fuel. Inputs of other resources, such as the materials to build all these things, are not shown.

(Note: the diagram may not display properly if your browser is set to large text, or styles are switched off.)

CO2
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radium & radon
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THE NUCLEAR
FUEL CHAIN
fallout
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mining
URANIUM MINING
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  water
  contamination
Waste heat CO2 bomb test
NUCLEAR TESTS
transport
 
CO2

Energy
arrowarrow
emissions &
accidents
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hotspots
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discharges &
accidents
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plutonium
enrichment
FUEL ENRICHMENT
fabrication
FUEL FABRICATION
power
NUCLEAR POWER
train
NUCLEAR TRAINS
reprocessing
REPROCESSING
weapons
NUCLEAR
WEAPONS
depleted
uranium
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discharges
& waste
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accidents
tank
ARMAMENTS
waste arrow decommission
DECOMMISSIONING
arrowCO2
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fragmentation
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accidents
NUCLEAR
WASTE DUMPS
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leakage
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radioactive
scrap metal

skip to contents updated: 20-Mar-08