UK’s plutonium to be readied for disposal

When spent nuclear fuel is separated it into its component parts, one of the products is plutonium.

Successive governments have kept the material to leave open the option to recycle it into new nuclear fuel.

Storing this highly radioactive material – in its current form – is expensive and difficult. It needs to be frequently repackaged, because radiation damages the containers it’s kept in. And it’s guarded by armed police. All that costs the taxpayer more than £70m per year.

The government has made the decision that the safest – most economically viable solution – is to “immobilise” its entire plutonium stockpile.

That means that a facility will be built at Sellafield where the plutonium can be converted into a stable, rock-like material, which can eventually be disposed of deep underground.

In a statement, energy minister Michael Shanks , externalsaid the objective was “to put this material beyond reach, into a form which both reduces the long-term safety and security burden during storage and ensures it is suitable for disposal”.

Nuclear materials scientist Dr Lewis Blackburn from the University of Sheffield said the plutonium would be “converted into a ceramic material” which, while still radioactive, is solid and stable so it is deemed safe to dispose of.

“The type of ceramic remains to be decided [and selecting the right material] is the subject of ongoing research.”