Long-term management of the UK’s civil plutonium accumulation
In 2008 the Government requested that the NDA identify credible options for the long-term management of the UK’s stocks of civil plutonium. In response to this request, the NDA published its most recent credible option paper in February 2011.
Following publication of that paper, DECC held a workshop with some stakeholders in which it sought views on how the UK should manage its plutonium accumulation to inform the consultation process. A summary and a transcript of a workshop held on 21 May 2009 in Manchester can be found below:
As a result of the feedback we received from our workshop with stakeholders, we published two discussion documents.
The first considered the factors that could be important when judging one potential option for long-term plutonium management against another:
The second considered the decision-making methodology and issues around choosing the right time to make a decision on selecting a preferred option:
Comments received on these papers were used to help form the consultation on long-term plutonium management which was published on 7 February 2011. This set out for public scrutiny and consultation the Government’s proposed approach to long-term management of the UK’s plutonium stocks.
The Government response to this consultation was published on 1 December 2011. It confirmed that Government will pursue a preliminary policy view that reuse of plutonium as MOX fuel is the best available option to manage the UK’s plutonium stocksand any remaining plutonium that cannot be converted into MOX will be immobilised and treated as waste for disposal.
While the Government believes it has sufficient information to set out a direction, it is not yet sufficient to make a specific decision to proceed with procuring a new MOX plant. The Government is now commencing the next phase of work, which will provide the information required to make such a decision.
Only when the Government is confident that its preferred option could be implemented safely and securely, that is affordable, deliverable, and offers value for money, will it be in a position to proceed with a new MOX plant. If we cannot establish a means of implementation that satisfies these conditions then the way forward may need to be revised.
Plutonium management
The producers and users of plutonium for civil purposes (the UK, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Switzerland, and the United States) agreed in November 1997 to provide an internationally accepted framework for the management of plutonium. Their agreement was published in the document, International guidelines for the management of civil plutonium.
The main features of the guidelines were:
- reaffirmation of existing obligations, commitments and standards in the fields of non-proliferation, safety and physical protection
- renewed commitment to the strategic management of holdings of plutonium, and agreement on a number of factors to be taken into account in formulating national strategies
- provisions on the control of international transfers
- a new commitment to transparency
The countries involved agreed to publish periodic statements explaining their national strategies for nuclear power and the nuclear fuel cycle, and their general plans for managing national holdings of plutonium.
The nine countries concerned meet annually to ensure the guidelines are seen through in a timely and efficient manner and to exchange experiences. Individual countries are responsible for supplying information, although the guidelines include a standard format for this. Regular circulars on this are published on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) website.