5. Influence of sites releasing uranium
It should be remembered that natural uranium contains, by mass, 99.275% uranium 238, 0.72% uranium 235 and 0.0055% uranium 234. One gram of natural uranium has an activity of 12,300 Bq of uranium 238, 600 Bq of uranium 235 and 12,900 Bq of uranium 234; the activity of uranium 238 is therefore 20 times greater than that of uranium 235.
The Malvési site, 3 km north of Narbonne, purifies uranium concentrates ("yellow cake") and converts them into uranium tetrafluoride (UF
4
). This is the first stage in the fuel cycle to be carried out on French territory. The UF
4
is then transported to the Tricastin-Pierrelatte nuclear complex, located in the lower...
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Influence of sites releasing uranium