Uranium Made Easy
"Uranium possesses a lot of unique properties and has been shown to catalyze reactions that no other element can," says Jaqueline Kiplinger of the Los Alamos Materials Chemistry group. Unfortunately, the processes established more than 20 years ago for getting uranium into a workable form are difficult to carry out, low yielding, and hazardous. Some involve the input of mercury iodide and, therefore, the output of toxic waste.