The table Nuclear Materials Balance - 2005/06 gives details of “material unaccounted for” (MUF) arising from the use of plutonium and/or uranium in civil nuclear programmes during 2005/06. 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 2005/06 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 plant.
An introduction to Materials Unaccounted For ('MUF')'.
| Site or Works | Plutonium kg (1) | HEU kg 235U (2) | LEU tU (3) | Natural U tU (3) | Depleted U tU (3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UKAEA | |||||
| Dounreay | -0.030 | +4.94 | -0.001 | -0.013 | +0.003 |
| Harwell | +0.015 | +0.015 | <+0.001 | <+0.001 | +1.05 |
| Windscale | NIL | NIL | NIL | NIL | <+0.001 |
| Winfrith | NIL | +0.001 | NIL | NIL | +0.002 |
| JET | NIL | NIL | NIL | NIL | NIL |
| BNFL | |||||
| Sellafield | +5.09 | NIL | +1.89 | +0.002 | -19.8 |
| Springfields | NIL | NIL | -0.415 | +1.65 | -0.552 |
| Capenhurst | NIL | +0.009 | +0.628 | NIL | +0.999 |
| URENCO | |||||
| Capenhurst (4) | N/A | NIL | |<------------ (-0.021) ------------>| | ||
+ apparent increase
- apparent decrease
John Price - (01305) 203316
General: 01925 834075 Paul Vallance
Sellafield: 019467 85839 Ali McKibbin
Springfields: 01772 762841 Alan Beauchamp
01628 402297
Jayne Hallett