Office for Nuclear Regulation
An agency of HSE

Withdrawal Notifications for 2010

Information on advance notifications of withdrawals of nuclear material from safeguards made during 2010 is shown in the table below. Data are shown in the same format as those provided previously. The withdrawals involved material used as radiological shielding or small quantities of material for use in instrument calibration or radiation detectors, or as analytical tracers or for research and development.

Table: Summary of Notifications of Withdrawals from Safeguards (1 January 2010 to 31 December 2010)

Number of withdrawal notifications (by type of nuclear material involved)1 Reason for withdrawal
Two notifications involving plutonium (Pu), total ~ 4g Materials to be used for analysis/analytical purposes (e.g. samples, standards/tracers and/or in instrument calibration)2.  One notification also involved mg quantities of depleted uranium and thorium (from a laboratory that provides standards/tracers and/or nuclear material for instrument calibration).  The other notification (~4g) was a sample for analysis (from a research establishment).
Three notifications involving high enriched uranium (HEU), total ~ 1.7g Material contained in radiation detectors2 (from a company that manufactures radiation detectors).
Eight notifications involving depleted uranium (DU), total ~ 4600kg and one notification involving thorium (Th), ug quantities Six notifications involved materials to be used as radiological shielding3 (from companies that supplies radiation sources).  Three notifications involved materials to be used for analytical purposes (from companies that provide standards/tracers and/or nuclear material for instrument calibration).

Notes

  1. tabulated information covers advance notifications of withdrawal approved by HSE UK Safeguards Office and which resulted in the eventual withdrawal of nuclear material from safeguards.
  2. there are no facilities outside safeguards that have material in such quantities and forms, and defence establishment requirements for these specialist materials have therefore been met by supply from civil organisations.
  3. the advance notifications of withdrawal for depleted uranium shielded containers were for temporary withdrawals, the containers being used during the replacement of spent radioactive sources at UK defence establishments.

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Updated 01.07.11