This website uses non-intrusive cookies to improve your user experience. You can visit our cookie privacy page for more information.

Text size:

Nuclear materials balance - 2004/05

The table "Nuclear Materials Balance - 2004/05 gives details of “material unaccounted for” (MUF) arising from the use of plutonium and/or uranium in civil nuclear programmes during 2004/05. The figures are provided on behalf of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL) and Urenco (Capenhurst) Ltd. The figures aggregate the various operations at each site and follow the practice introduced in 1977.

All of the figures are within internationally accepted standards published by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for expected measurement uncertainty associated with nuclear materials accountancy. The 2004/05 figures conform to the pattern over previous years and give no rise to concern over either the safety or the security of the operation of the plants.

Materials Unaccounted for at UKAEA, BNFL and Urenco sites in 2004/05

Site or Works	Plutonium kg (1)	HEU kg 235U (2)	LEU tU (3)	Natural U tU (3)	Depleted U tU (3)
UKAEA
Dounreay	+0.096	-0.283	-0.002	NIL	<-0.001
Harwell	<-0.001	NIL	<-0.001	NIL	<-0.001
Windscale	NIL	NIL	<+0.001	NIL	<+0.001
Winfrith	+0.004	-0.141	+0.003	<+0.001	<+0.001
JET	NIL	NIL	NIL	NIL	NIL
BNFL
Sellafield	+3.20	-0.001	-1.35	-0.001	+4.26
Springfields	NIL	NIL	+2.75	+20.3	+1.80
Capenhurst	NIL	NIL	+0.849	+0.307	+1.14
URENCO
Capenhurst (4)	NIL	NIL	<------------ +0.192 ------------>

+ apparent increase
- apparent decrease

The figures for plutonium are the total amount of all plutonium isotopes.
The figures for highly enriched uranium (HEU) are for the uranium 235 content of uranium enriched to above 20% of that isotope.
Low enriched uranium (LEU), natural uranium and depleted uranium cannot be used to make explosive devices. The published figures include these grades for the sake of completeness.
The figure for Urenco Capenhurst is a consolidated figure for Enrichment Technology Company (Capenhurst) Ltd and Urenco Enrichment Company (Capenhurst) Ltd.

Notes:

An introduction to Materials Unaccounted For ('MUF')

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority

John Price - (01305) 203316

British Nuclear Fuels plc

General: 01925 834075 Paul Vallance
Sellafield: 019467 85839 Ali McKibbin
Springfields: 01772 762841 Alan Beauchamp

Urenco (Capenhurst) Ltd

0151 473 4155
Trevor Farrington