uranium hexafluoride

noun

Chemistry.

1. a colorless, water-insoluble, crystalline, volatile solid, UF 6 , used in its gaseous state in separating uranium 235 from uranium.

uranium hexafluoride

/ ˌhɛksəˈflʊəˌraɪd /

noun

1. a compound used in the process of uranium enrichment that produces fissile material for nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. Formula: UF 6

Word History and Origins

Origin of uranium hexafluoride¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

"If there was an incident and the centrifuges were to release the uranium hexafluoride, the gas contained within the centrifuges, then it would be a really severe chemical incident," said Prof Simon Middleburgh, a nuclear materials scientist, from Bangor University.

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"If this uranium hexafluoride comes in contact with moisture in the air, it's really quite corrosive and nasty because it can form this very, very strong acid," he said.

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It said the worker died from a "mechanical injury" caused by a breach in a container of uranium hexafluoride, a chemical compound used in uranium enrichment.

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The report said Iran's stock of uranium enriched to 60% and in the form of uranium hexafluoride, the gas that centrifuges enrich, was estimated to be 55.6 kg, an increase of 12.5 kg from the previous quarterly report.

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AP also tracked millions of dollars worth of shipments of radioactive uranium hexafluoride from Russian state-owned Tenex JSC, the world’s largest exporter of initial nuclear fuel cycle products, to Westinghouse Electric Co. in South Carolina.

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