Office for Nuclear Regulation
An agency of HSE

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Nuclear materials balance - 2008/09

Material unaccounted for (MUF) figures were published annually from 1977 onwards by UKAEA on behalf of the UK nuclear industry. Changes in the structure of the industry which followed from setting-up the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) meant that figures for 2004/5 and 2005/6 were published, on behalf of the industry, by the then Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The transfer in April 2007 of operational aspects of the work of the UK Safeguards Office (UKSO) from DTI to the HSE means that the figures for 2006/7 onwards are published, as a matter of routine, on the HSE website.

Inventory Differences ('Material Unaccounted For') at UK Civil Nuclear sites in 2008/09

Site Plutonium
kg (1)		 HEU
kg 235U (2)		 LEU
tU (3)		 Natural U
tU (3)		 Depleted U
tU (3)
Dounreay -0.147 +2.60 -0.001 NIL -0.007
Harwell +0.031 <+0.001 <+0.001 NIL +0.001
Windscale(4) NIL NIL -0.002 -0.026 <+0.001
Winfrith NIL <-0.001 +0.003 NIL <+0.001
Sellafield -3.13 +0.001 -1.34 -0.013 -1.05
Springfields NIL NIL -1.44 +9.21 -3.45
Capenhurst (Sellafield Ltd) (5) NIL NIL +0.765 NIL +0.141
Chapelcross (6) NIL NIL NIL NIL +1.00
URENCO Capenhurst (7) N/A N/A <---------------- -0.118 ---------------->

+ apparent increase

- apparent decrease

  1. the figures for plutonium are the total amount of all plutonium isotopes.
  2. the figures for highly enriched uranium (HEU) are for the uranium 235 content of uranium enriched to above 20% of that isotope.
  3. 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.
  4. for which Sellafield Ltd became the site licensee on 1 April 2008
  5. operated by Sellafield Ltd
  6. the figure for Chapelcross is the result of recent processing to repackage depleted uranium stored at the site
  7. the figure for Urenco Capenhurst is a consolidated figure for Urenco UK Ltd and Enrichment Technology UK Ltd

Notes

Contacts

Dounreay, Colin Punler 01847 806160
Harwell, Angela Vincent 01235 435234
Winfrith, Angela Vincent 01235 435234
Sellafield/Windscale, Ali McKibbin 019467 85839
Springfields, Alan Beauchamp 01772 762841
Sellafield Ltd Capenhurst, Ben Todd 01925 834431
Chapelcross, Nigel Monckton 01925 834853
URENCO Capenhurst, Neil Fagan 0151 473 4240

Updated 2012-10-16