It takes all types of fuel to provide dependable electricity. Nuclear power plants rely on uranium fuel. The nuclear fuel used in the Callaway Plant consists of ceramic pellets of uranium dioxide—each one about one-half inch long and as thick as a pencil.
At a fuel manufacturing plant, these pellets are stacked, end on end, inside 12-foot-long tubes called fuel rods, made of Zircaloy metal. The fuel rods are then arranged in bundles called fuel assemblies that are 8 1/2 inches square and weigh about 1,140 pounds.
From the fuel manufacturing plant, fuel assemblies are shipped to the Callaway Plant by truck in rugged shipping casks designed to protect them from damage.
Every 18 months the plant shuts down for several weeks for refueling and maintenance. During refueling, nearly half of the 193 fuel assemblies are replaced with new ones.
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