§ Mr. EdwardsTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if mixed oxide fuel and the materials which will be returned to BNFL's customers abroad after reprocessing are capable of being modified more easily than spent fuel for use in nuclear weapons. [73560]
§ Mr. Battle[holding answer 26 February 1999]: Plutonium can be recovered from either spent fuel or from fresh Mixed Oxide fuel (MOX) only through a difficult chemical separation process requiring complex and highly specialised plant, equipment and skills. It is technically difficult to produce nuclear weapons using weapons grade material. It would be even more difficult to use reactor grade plutonium to produce a reliable weapon giving a predictable yield.
The other materials recovered from reprocessing are Low Enriched Uranium and waste. Low Enriched Uranium cannot be used directly to construct nuclear weapons. While safeguards and physical protection measures continue to be applied to it, it is of limited sensitivity to proliferation. Waste contains only traces of plutonium and cannot be used to construct nuclear weapons.