WASTE sometimes begets waste. And when that waste is radioactive, it can become a serious enough problem to close a plant down. Just such a scenario is threatening the future of the UK鈥檚 mixed-oxide (MOX) plant at Sellafield, Cumbria.
The MOX plant takes the plutonium that is separated from spent nuclear fuel at Sellafield鈥檚 THORP plant and combines it with uranium to make mixed-oxide fuel. Sellafield鈥檚 MOX plant is supposed to supply fuel for reactors in Japan and Europe.
But the MOX plant could run out of storage for its waste 鈥渨ithin the next year or so鈥�, according to a report for the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority that was released to Greenpeace under the Freedom of Information Act. There is a need 鈥渢o find a solution rapidly to avoid a plant shutdown鈥�, the report warns.
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