High Level Waste Management at Sellafield

Elsden, A. D.; ,

High Level Waste Management at Sellafield

by A. D. Elsden, British Nuclear Fuels plc, United Kingdom,

Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: High Level Radioactive Waste Management 1990

Abstract:

Reprocessing of irradiated nuclear fuel has been carried out at Sellafield since 1952, when reprocessing of fuel from the original UK air-cooled reactors began. In 1964 a second reprocessing facility was commissioned, primarily to reprocess Magnox fuel from the UK civil reactor programme. More than 30,000 tonnes have been reprocessed to date. A third generation reprocessing plant is currently under construction and will reprocess oxide fuel from AGR's and LWR's. This Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (THORP) is scheduled for commissioning in 1992 and contracts have been signed for 6000 te of the initial 7000 te baseload to be reprocessed in the first 10 years of operation. Approximately two thirds of this fuel will come from overseas. Reprocessing of irradiated fuel produces radioactive waste, though it clearly does not increase the amount of radioactivity.

Return to search