Safety assessment on NUE fuel bundles for demonstration irradiation in a CANDU reactor

The CANDU®¹ reactors have a unique fuel cycle capability that enables them to utilize alternative fuel options. One option currently being developed is Natural Uranium Equivalent (NUE) fuel. This fuel is not fabricated from natural uranium but from a mixture of depleted uranium and recycled uranium that follows the fundamental specifications for natural uranium (NU) fuel and mimics its performance. Recycling uranium from reprocessing facilities reintroduces the uranium into the fuel cycle and will improve the utilization rate of NU resources; ultimately improving the sustainability of fuel resources. The concept of using NUE is currently being implemented as a demonstration in the Qinshan CANDU units in China. The NUE fuel has been manufactured in China and utilized in a two-channel demonstration irradiation in one of the Qinshan CANDU units. A safety assessment has been performed which has concluded that there are no safety concerns or adverse implications of replacing NU fuel with NUE fuel for the two -channel demonstration irradiation. This paper is an overview of this safety assessment. (author)