Seeker's video: Why the US needs Russian uranium

The Russia-Ukraine war is exposing a problem that doesn’t get that much coverage: the nuclear fuel supply chain. Back in March 2022, President Biden announced sanctions on Russia’s energy exports, oil and gas. But uranium was left off the list. Subscribe: http://bit.ly/subscribeseeker Like Seeker by The Verge on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SeekerMedia/ Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/seeker Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seeker/ 00:00 Introduction 00:36 Russia-Ukraine War 01:19 Why uranium? 01:41 How uranium becomes nuclear fuel 04:12 The future of nuclear power 06:34 The debate behind nuclear power Russia is a huge player on the global stage when it comes to nuclear energy and particularly when it comes to the uranium supply chain. The US can pretty easily turn its back on Russian oil and gas and has and has not been able to pull the trigger on uranium because we rely on Russia for a significant chunk of our uranium. It supplies about 16% of the US’s uranium supply and upwards of that when it comes to the global uranium supply. Nuclear power is a highly contested energy source, but it still makes up about half of our carbon pollution free electricity in the U.S. Right now, the Biden administration is investing a lot of money and resources into its expansion, from extending the life span of old plants to building new ones. Read more: The US Can’t Seem to Quit Russian Uranium https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/31/23003494/war-ukraine-nuclear-energy-uranium-russia-supply-chain The US’s exclusion of uranium from energy sanctions “was very frustrating because we understand that this is part of the Russian war machine,” says Kostiantyn Krynytskyi, head of the energy department at Ukrainian environmental organization Ekodia. That uranium ore found at a Grand Canyon museum isn’t as scary as it sounds https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/19/18232027/uranium-ore-grand-canyon-museum-radiation-safety-health-risks We know that prolonged exposure to one of the decay products of uranium or radon gas in high concentrations increases your chance of getting cancer. But three buckets of ore sitting in a basement or in a closet is a lot different than somebody going down into a mine and working for 30 years mining uranium ore. It’s not just the dose rate, but it’s the total dosage you get is what determines your risk.