UK to tackle radioactive plutonium with groundbreaking disposal plan

The UK government has announced plans to dispose of its 140 tons of radioactive plutonium, currently stored at a secure facility at Sellafield in Cumbria.

This stockpile, the largest in the world, is a byproduct of nuclear fuel reprocessing and has been accumulating at the site for decades in a form that could potentially be recycled into new nuclear fuel, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

However, the government has now decided that this material will not be reused and will instead be permanently disposed of by converting it into a stable, solid form that can be buried deep underground.

Plutonium is produced when spent nuclear fuel is separated into its component parts, and previous governments had kept the material with the possibility of recycling it for new nuclear fuel. However, storing this highly radioactive substance in its current form has proven both expensive and challenging. The material requires frequent repackaging due to the damaging effects of radiation on the containers, and the storage site is guarded by armed police, resulting in annual costs exceeding £70 million.

Energy Minister Michael Shanks explained the government’s decision, stating that the goal is "to put this material beyond reach, into a form which both reduces the long-term safety and security burden during storage and ensures it is suitable for disposal." To achieve this, a facility will be built at Sellafield where the plutonium will be transformed into a stable, rock-like material that can ultimately be disposed of in a deep geological facility.

Dr. Lewis Blackburn, a nuclear materials scientist at the University of Sheffield, stated that the plutonium will be "converted into a ceramic material" that, while still radioactive, will be solid and stable, thus making it safe for disposal. He added, "The type of ceramic remains to be decided, and selecting the right material is the subject of ongoing research."

Prof. Claire Corkhill, a nuclear waste expert from the University of Bristol, praised the government’s decision as a "positive step." She explained that it clears the way for eliminating the hazards and costs associated with storing plutonium at Sellafield. "These materials are based on those we find in nature—natural minerals that we know have contained uranium for billions of years."

The government is in the early stages of selecting a site for a deep geological disposal facility, which will eventually house the UK’s most hazardous radioactive waste. However, this facility is not expected to be operational until at least 2050.

By Vafa Guliyeva