Uranium!

Uranium in Society

          Uranium is an important element when it comes to energy and powering the world. Nuclear power plants use uranium as the main element for nuclear fuel.

          Uranium is also used by the military in powering nuclear based submarines and weapons. They also use the less radioactive and more stable uranium elements for ballasts on ships and counterweight on aircrafts.

How is it extracted?

          The International Physicians for the prevention of nuclear war tells the process of extracting uranium in, "Depending on the depth in the ground of the seam of rock containing uranium, the deposit is either mined using surface (open-cast or openpit) or sub-surface (underground) mining. The uranium ore is extracted through mechanical means such as blasting, drilling, pneumatic drilling, picks and shovels, and then transported to the surface. After mining, the ore is ground to a fine powder in a uranium mill. Due to the very low concentration of uranium in the rock, immense amounts of rock have to be moved and processed in order to get a few kilograms of natural uranium. This results in enormous heaps. For instance, with a concentration of 0.1% of uranium 1000 tonnes of radioactive waste have to be dumped onto heaps to get just one tonne of natural uranium. In a second stage of the process, the pulverized uranium ore is treated with a strong acid or leach. This procedure separates about 90% of the uranium from the surrounding rock. The remaining 10% and the resulting slurry (Tailings) are waste products that are collected in large tanks. After drying, a yellow-brownish powder - so-called 'yellowcake' – is the result, containing a uranium concentration of approx. 80%. 'Yellow cake' is the first intermediate stage between uranium and the fuel for a 1 Karl-W. Koch (Hg.): Störfall Atomkraft; Bad Homburg, 2010 nuclear power plant or for a nuclear bomb. Two tonnes of uranium ore will give about one kilogram of 'yellow cake'."