According to a report in World Nuclear News, United Kingdom took ownership of four tonnes of German plutonium in a series of title swaps that made an equivalent amount of plutonium available to Germany in France. This plutonium will be used by Areva to manufacture MOX fuel for use in German reactors. Originally, the MOX fuel was to be manufactured at the Sellafield MOX Plant, but the U.K. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is closing the plant down.
In 2011 the United Kingdom reported to IAEA that it had the total of 114.8 tonnes of civilian plutonium, of which 28.0 tonnes belonged to foreign countries. The current transaction will not change the total amount of plutonium in the U.K. The four tonnes will be added to the U.K. civilian stock and will be disposed of in the same not yet identified manner.
