Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd -FAQs

FAQs - nuclear fuel

What is the difference between nuclear fuel and nuclear waste?

Put simply, nuclear fuel can be used again to power a reactor while nuclear waste cannot. The fuel is an asset, the waste is a liability.

Can your fuel be used in other reactors to produce electricity?

Yes, though much of our stock is in specialist forms and would need reworked before it can be used in other reactors.

Who owns it?

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

How much do you have?

About 100 tonnes of uranium and plutonium in various forms.

Is it all located at Dounreay?

Yes.

Isn’t spent fuel really just nuclear waste?

No. Spent fuel is fuel that has been irradiated in a reactor. Some of the fuel in the element has been burned up and is waste. But most of the fuel in the element has not and can be used again if it is separated from the portion that is waste.

Will you reprocess the spent fuel?

No. Dounreay’s reprocessing plants closed in 1996 and are being cleaned out and dismantled. Dounreay has no further use for the fuel because the site is being closed down. But it could be reprocessed elsewhere if someone wanted to use the fuel.

Will the fuel stay at Dounreay?

Different options have been looked at and these are kept under review. We have made provision in our plans for storage beyond the "interim end date" for site decommissioning, but our intention is to package the fuel in a way that doesn't foreclose the option to remove it from the site before then.

Who decides if it is to be removed?

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

What about the foreign fuel?

Agreements have been reached to return or exchange most of the seven tonnes of foreign-owned material that accumulated at Dounreay, leaving less than half a tonne still to be resolved.

The closure of these contracts is being managed by International Nuclear Services on behalf of the NDA. See Dounreay hands over old fuel contracts.

What about the waste that would have arisen if you'd reprocessed this foreign fuel?

An amount of waste equivalent to what would have been produced will also be returned. National policy is clear on this – there should not be any accumulation of foreign waste.

Does the inventory include the fuel airlifted by the American government from Georgia for safekeeping at Dounreay?

Yes. Some of this material has been removed from the site and transported to the US. Discussions are continuing between the UK and USA about the removal of the remainder.

Can nuclear fuel be transported safely?

Yes, so long as stringent safety and security requirements are adhered to. The regulations in force in the UK are based on standards laid down by the International Atomic Energy Agency for the transportation of fuel.

Could your fuel be diverted to make weapons?

No. All the fuel in the inventory is under EU “safeguards”, which means the UK has declared it is out of bounds for military use. EU inspectors regularly carry out stock takes and examine seals to ensure none of it has been diverted.

What about theft?

Keeping the fuel stored securely is very important, both during and after decommissioning the rest of the site.

Dounreay’s security arrangements must satisfy the Office for Civil Nuclear Security, part of the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate regulator. It carries out regular checks to ensure the site is compliant with these arrangements.

Dounreay is policed by the Civil Nuclear Constabulary - an armed, national police force dedicated to the protection of nuclear materials in the UK.