§ Ms. RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish the specific current location and use to which all of the plutonium produced in(a) each United Kingdom electricity board advanced gas-cooled reactor and Magnox reactor and (b) each United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority reactor at Dounreay and Winfrith is put.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerNo irradiated fuel from the United Kingdom generating boards' advanced gas-cooled reactors has yet been reprocessed. For details of the plutonium produced in the boards' magnox reactors and its uses, I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Dr. Thomas) on 24 July 1987, at columns515–16 and to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to the hon. Member for Colne Valley (Mr. Riddick) on 16 December 1987, at column 516.
Plutonium in the spent fuel from the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority's prototype fast reactor is recovered at Dounreay and reused in the manufacture of fresh fuel. As the prototype is a net consumer of plutonium, the balance has to be made up from thermal reactors and this is supplied at Sellafield. All these processes are subject to safeguards.
The spent fuel from the UKAEA's steam generating heavy water reactor at Winfrith is stored under safeguards pending reprocessing in the THORP plant at Sellafield.