Inventory

Forty years of research and development into more efficient ways to generate electricity from uranium and plutonium generated a variety of different types of fuel at Dounreay. Much of this in a specialist form.

When the research and development work came to an end in 1994, the programme had accumulated just over 100 tonnes of fuel on the site. Today, keeping this fuel safe and secure during the decommissioning is an integral part of the site clean-up programme.

This inventory belongs to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and is a national asset.

It contains both irradiated fuel and unirradiated fuel.

Approximately seven tonnes of the site’s inventory belonged to historic customers who entered into commercial agreements during the 1980s and 1990s for the reworking of their fuel at Dounreay. The facilities to rework this fuel no longer exist at Dounreay.

Agreements have been reached to exchange or return much of this material, leaving less than half a tonne of foreign-owned material still to be resolved.

 

Inventory summary
Fuel Type % of inventory
DFR breeder 41
natural/depleted uranium 21
irradiated plutonium bearing materials 12
unirradiated plutonium bearing materials 10
miscellaneous (on and off-site) 10
carbide 6

 

 

Detailed information about specific fuel, its composition and precise location is withheld for security reasons.
Click here for guidance on the release of information about nuclear fuel.
 

 

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Image: Workers were shielded by thick windows from the hazardous radiation of spent fuel

Workers were shielded by thick windows from the hazardous radiation of spent fuel

Image: Archive image of the research reactor fuel reprocessing plant

Archive image of the research reactor fuel reprocessing plant

Image: Spent nuclear fuel being disassembled for reprocessing

Spent nuclear fuel being disassembled for reprocessing

Image: Taken in the 1970s, this picture shows the caves where fuel from the Prototype Fast Reactor was examined after being removed from the reactor

Taken in the 1970s, this picture shows the caves where fuel from the Prototype Fast Reactor was examined after being removed from the reactor