Funding allocated for UK plutonium disposal research

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) said the investment, spanning five years, will allow the group, working with supply-chain partners, to design, install and operate specialist laboratory facilities at Sellafield, where experts will test and prove the technology that will be used to immobilise the plutonium, locking it away in a stable form.

It said work will focus on early research and development for the programme over the next two years, with 50 people already in post. In addition, GBP2.5 million is being invested in establishing a GBP5 million Plutonium Ceramics Academic Hub in partnership with the Universities of Manchester and Sheffield, which is central to developing the technical expertise and subject matter experts needed for the unique work.

The UK's stockpile of some 140 tonnes of civil plutonium is currently stored at the Sellafield site in Cumbria, in line with regulatory requirements.

Two technologies for immobilisation are being explored: Disposal MOX (DMOX), which creates ceramic pellets designed for disposal; and Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP), where high pressures and temperatures are used to create a rock-like ceramic material. The NDA said progress is already underway, with two new state-of-the-art laboratories being installed at Sellafield to develop and prove the technologies.

Once immobilised, the material is intended for final disposal in a geological disposal facility and NDA group subsidiary Nuclear Waste Services is leading work to ensure the final waste form is suitable for the repository.

Alongside this research and development investment, the next phase involves seeking approval for a major plutonium disposition programme. NDA said this will require the construction of a nuclear material processing plant and interim storage capability at Sellafield, bringing major investment to the area and supporting thousands of skilled jobs for decades to come.

"The NDA group is already leading the way in nuclear decommissioning and safely managing the UK's most hazardous radioactive materials," said NDA Group CEO David Peattie. "This government investment will allow us to drive forward this important national policy, building cutting edge facilities and growing world-leading expertise and capability in plutonium immobilisation, providing a safe, secure and permanent solution."

In January this year, the UK government took the decision that the country's stockpile of civil plutonium would be disposed of, rather than used to produce mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel for nuclear power plants. The inventory arose from the reprocessing of used nuclear fuel undertaken over many decades.

Following a public consultation in 2011, the government at the time formed a preliminary policy view to pursue reuse of plutonium as MOX fuel but to remain open to any alternative proposals for plutonium management.

The NDA has since carried out technical, deliverability and economic analysis to identify a preferred option for a long-term disposition solution, including options for immobilisation and reuse. The outcome of this work recommended immobilisation as the preferred way forward to put the material beyond reach soonest and with greatest delivery confidence.