- Date released
- 26 May 2020
- Request number
- 202004006
- Release of information under
- Freedom of Information Act 2000
Information requested
- Are any of the currently active nuclear sites in the UK producing Plutonium? If so, where? And how many tons per year?
- If any of the sites are producing Plutonium, how much of it (if any) is used for nuclear weapons?
- If Plutonium is produced in the UK and is not used in nuclear weapons what happens to it?
Information released
- Plutonium is a by-product from the nuclear reaction, which occurs when fuel is used in nuclear reactors and is therefore produced by all the operating civil reactors. Further details are available in The 2018 annual figures for holdings of civil unirradiated plutonium .
- ONR does not hold this information, however the government have declared that plutonium recovery is no longer required for either civil or military purposes.
- The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), a Non-Departmental Public Body has been appointed by the government to develop a strategy for the UK civil plutonium inventory. This is detailed in the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) 2016 strategy .
In addition, all civil nuclear material in the UK is subject to independent inspection and verification by the European Union Safeguards Inspectorate (Euratom) who ensure that the UK can account for all civil nuclear material.
Exemptions applied
N/A
PIT (Public Interest Test) if applicable
N/A