§ Mr. Cookasked the Secretary of State for Energy what are the comparative plutonium production rates of magnox reactors, advanced gas-cooled reactors and pressurised water reactors; and what percentage of plutonium 239 is produced by each type of reactor.
§ Mr. John MoorePlutonium yields depend on the design of the particular reactor and the burn up of its fuel prior to discharge. Consequently, yields can vary considerably between reactors of the same type. Typical present day figures for reactors under typical operating conditions were given in answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Bedford (Mr. Skeet) on 3 March 1980—[Vol. 980, c.10]—that the yield of plutonium, in tonnes, per year from a station of 1,000MW electricity capacity, operating continuously, would be as follows: Magnox 0.75—AGR 0.25—PWR 0.33—CANDU 0.51.
On the percentage of plutonium 239 produced, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 29 October 1981—[Vol. 10, c. 399]—for the Magnox reactor, in which I said that the average proportion of plutonium 239 in the plutonium currently extracted from Magnox spent fuel is of the order of 70 to 75 per cent. The plutonium derived from discharged PWR/AGR fuel is expected to have a plutonium 239 content of 50–60 per cent.