1. Nuclear Fuel Rods By: Me

2. Fuel rods Fuel rods are zirconium alloy tubes that contain the radioactive uranium in reactor cores If they fail, radiation is next contained by the coolant system.

3. What do fuel rods do and what’s going on with them? The first level of protection against the release of deadly radioactive material-are failing in increasing numbers. An engineer thinks a faulty manufacturing process he helped design may be to blame.

4. What is being done to fix this problem? The Nuclear Regulatory Commission isn't concerned, and the suspect parts are still being shipped, with potentially dangerous results. Since today's manufacturing methods supposedly produce stronger rods, plant operators are running the rods longer and harder than ever before. The facility studied most closely--the failures were "definitely due to a flaw at some point in the quality check program."