§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he has made a study of the relevance to the United Kingdom's nuclear industry of the 1989 report, "Plutonium Fuel: an assessment", by an expert group of the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organisation for Co-operation and Development.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerFor technical reasons, mixed uranium/plutonium oxide (MOX) fuel is not suitable for use in Magnox reactors. As stated in the report, its possible use in advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGR) and pressurised water reactors (PWR) has been examined by the Central Electricity Generating Board in conjunction with British Nuclear Fuels Limited. The results suggest that there is more to be gained from MOX use in PWRs than in AGRs. However, it is not envisaged that the recycle of plutonium could be undertaken in the United Kingdom on any significant scale before the turn of the century.