NDA group welcomes Government decision on plutonium disposition
Source: gov.uk (2025-01-24)

The NDA group has welcomed today’s UK Government policy decision to immobilise the UK’s inventory of civil separated plutonium at Sellafield.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) group has welcomed today’s UK Government policy decision to immobilise the UK’s inventory of civil separated plutonium at Sellafield.

Immobilisation puts the material beyond reach, further mitigating the long-term safety and security risks associated with it more efficiently.

The NDA group will continue progressing research and development work to identify the preferred technology for immobilisation, converting the material to an even safer and more stable form ready for final disposal in a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF).

The next phase will be to seek approval for a major programme on plutonium disposition, requiring a nuclear material processing plant and interim storage capability to be built at Sellafield, bringing major investment to the area and supporting thousands of skilled jobs for decades.

David Peattie, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Group CEO, said:

We welcome the Government’s policy decision on the future immobilisation of plutonium, paving the way for significant investment in West Cumbria.

This allows us to continue to deliver on our commitment to safely, securely, and sustainably deal with the UK’s civil nuclear legacy.

It will open up opportunities in areas including research and development, project planning, construction, engineering, and operations.

As well as generating thousands of jobs during construction, and hundreds of jobs in operation, the disposition programme will result in a significant boost to the regional supply chain and support investment in local infrastructure projects.

Euan Hutton, Sellafield Ltd CEO, said:

This is an important moment for our workforce, supply chain, stakeholders, and local community.

We have safely and securely managed plutonium at Sellafield since the 1940s, developing world leading expertise in the process.

The decision to immobilise the material places Sellafield at the centre of the effort, working with the NDA, NWS and our partners including the supply chain, to create a solution that delivers maximum value for all of our stakeholders.

The UK’s inventory of civil plutonium arose from the reprocessing of spent fuel undertaken over many decades. This was the process of taking used nuclear fuel and separating it into its component parts, one of which is plutonium which will remain radioactive and toxic for a considerable period of time.

It is currently stored safely and securely at Sellafield, which is recognised as the UK’s centre of excellence for plutonium management.

The policy decision follows substantial technical and economic analysis by the NDA group, which identified immobilisation as the option to best meet the Government’s objectives. Work will now continue on developing a suitable immobilisation solution to submit for Government approval to progress to the next phase.

Organisations involved in the delivery of this work will include the NDA group, and in particular Sellafield Ltd and Nuclear Waste Services, the United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory and the wider supply chain.

In the meantime, plutonium will continue to be stored in a suite of custom-built facilities at Sellafield that ensure its safety and security in line with regulatory requirements.

You can read the Written Ministerial Statement here: Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament (https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2025-01-24/hcws388).