§ Dr. Michael Clarkasked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if he will indicate the amount of uranium required to fuel a nuclear power station of 2,000 MW for 20 years, and the volume of spoil associated with the uranium refining in this country;
(2) if he will indicate the reserves of uranium available to the United Kingdom in terms of years if used in (a) thermonuclear power stations and (b) fast-breeder reactors.
§ Mr. GoodladI am advised by the CEGB that, on the basis of average figures for PWRs worldwide and excluding initial cores, 2000 MW of PWR nuclear capacity operating over a 20 year period would require some 6,000 tonnes of natural uranium.
Uranium is imported for use in the United Kingdom either in the form of uranium ore concentrate or as uranium hexafluoride. Chapter 106.24 of the Sizewell report says that about 1 tonne of solid tailings, and up to 5,000 litres of liquid waste, results from the production of 1 to 2 kg of uranium ore concentrate.
Based on the latest OECD/IAEA estimates, low-cost uranium resources are adequate to meet demand well into the next century. Fast reactors can utilise uranium at least 50 times more effectively than thermal reactors.