POTENTIAL PLUTONIUM UTILISATION IN FUTURE UK PWRS

In April 2005, the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) took ownership of most of the civil nuclear liabilities and assets in the UK. These include the separated civil plutonium (Pu) stocks, which are expected to rise to ~100 tonnes by the end of reprocessing in the UK. The UK National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) has a contract with the NDA to develop and carry out research which will result in an evaluation of the technical feasibility of a number of disposition options, including reactor re-use and immobilization of Pu as a waste for disposal. In the case of the re-use options and following a preliminary down selection process, two different reactor types have initially been considered; Sizewell ‘B’, a Westinghouse four loop design and the only existing Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) in the UK and the Westinghouse AP1000 PWR, one of the reactor systems that is a candidate for new nuclear build in the UK. (It is envisaged that the AREVA EPR will be evaluated in the near future). Both Mixed Oxide (MOX) and Inert Matrix Fuel (IMF) were considered as potential future fuels This paper presents a summary of the detailed technical evaluations completed to date, highlights the key findings, what has been learnt during the evaluations and the recommendations of the way forward regarding both the technical work and the strategic options for the UK. It should be noted that the views and options expressed in this paper are those of the author and not necessarily those of the UK Government or other policy makers.