|
|
 |
Glossary
AEAC
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority Constabulary.
AGR
Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor - a term used for the second generation of British power reactors, now operated by British Energy (Dungeness B, Hartlepool, Heysham 1 and 2, Hinkley Point B, Hunterston B and Torness). The fuel is slightly enriched uranium oxide clad in stainless steel. The coolant is carbon dioxide and the moderator is graphite. AGR fuel is manufactured by BNFL at Springfields and reprocessed in THORP.
ALARA
(As low as reasonably achievable). The ALARA principle is contained in the Euratom Basic Safety Standards Directive 96/29, which is transposed into UK law. Essentially, it means that all reasonable steps should be taken to protect people. In making this judgement, factors such as the costs involved in taking protection measures are weighed against benefits obtained, including the reduction in risks to people.
AWE
Atomic Weapons Establishment. AWE is operated by a site licensee company (AWE plc) managed by a contractor, currently a consortium of BNFL, Serco and Lockheed Martin (AWE Management Ltd). The consortium was appointed by the MoD after a competitive tender.
Barrow-in-Furness (Cumbria)
Site of the harbour for the Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited (PNTL) ships.
BE
British Energy plc. A major customer of BNFL, for the supply of fuel, reprocessing services and storage of spent fuel.
Berkeley (Glos)
Site of a closed Magnox power station (two reactors) and of the Berkeley Centre. The facilities of the Centre include high active cells, active chemistry laboratories, radiological instrumentation cells, specialist materials and graphite and reactor coolant laboratories.
BNFL
British Nuclear Fuels plc.
BNFL Instruments
Subsidiary of BNFL that is one of the world's leading providers of instrumentation and services for the measurement and characterisation of radioactive materials.
BNFL UAM
Uranium Assets Management Co Ltd provides uranium contract management services including uranic procurement on behalf of BNFL Magnox Generation.
BPM
(Best Practicable Means). BPM is a term used by the EA and SEPA in authorisations issued under the Radioactive Substances Act. Essentially, it requires operators to take all reasonably practicable measures in the design and operational management of their facilities to minimise discharges and disposals of radioactive waste, so as to achieve a high standard of protection for the public and the environment. BPM is applied to such aspects as minimising waste creation, abating discharges, and monitoring plant, discharges and the environment. It takes account of such factors as the availability and cost of relevant measures, operator safety and the benefits of reduced discharges and disposals. If the operator is using BPM, radiation risks to the public and the environment will be ALARA.
Bradwell (Essex)
Site of a Magnox power station (two reactors) that operated from 1962 to May 2002.
Calder Hall (Cumbria)
A Magnox power station (four reactors) within the Sellafield site which has operated since 1956. It was the world's first fully commercial nuclear power plant and remains the UK's longest operating nuclear power plant. BNFL recently announced that it will close in March 2003.
Capenhurst (Cheshire)
BNFL site which originally housed a diffusion plant that ceased operating in 1982. The site now focuses on the decommissioning and storage of uranic materials. Capenhurst is also home to the first commercial scale centrifuge plant for the enrichment of uranium. BNFL is a one-third owner of Urenco Ltd which markets enrichment services.
Chapelcross (Dumfriesshire)
Site of an operating Magnox power station (four reactors) that opened in 1959. BNFL recently announced that it will close in March 2005.
Clean up
The decontamination and decommissioning of a nuclear licensed site.
Culham (Oxfordshire)
The UK centre for research into nuclear fusion and home of JET, Europe's flagship fusion project. Since January 2000 JET has been operated by UKEAEA on behalf of Euratom. The UK is responsible for decommissioning the site when JET closes. Also based at Culham are the UKAEA Constabulary and a number of external tenants. The site is not covered by a nuclear site licence.
Decommissioning
The process whereby a nuclear facility, at the end of its economic life, is taken permanently out of service and its site made available for other purposes.
Decontamination
Removal or reduction of radioactive contamination.
DEFRA
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
DEVA
Subsidiary of BNFL that manufactures waste drums and associated equipment.
Disposal
In the context of solid waste, disposal is the emplacement of waste in a suitable facility without intent to retrieve it at a later date; retrieval may be possible but, if intended, the appropriate term is storage. Disposal may also refer to the release of airborne or liquid wastes to the environment (i.e. emissions and discharges).
Dounreay (Caithness)
Located on the far north coast of Scotland, the site was established on a former naval base as the centre for UK fast reactor research. It is now engaged on a major decommissioning and site restoration programme to deal with the legacy of past operations. Over half of UKAEA liabilities are located at Dounreay.
Drigg (Cumbria)
Site of the national low-level waste repository. The site is operated by BNFL.
DRS
Direct Rail Services Limited. A subsidiary of BNFL which provides rail transport services for nuclear materials in the UK.
DTI
Department of Trade and Industry.
DfT
Department for Transport.
Dungeness A (Kent)
Site of an operating Magnox power station (two reactors) that opened in 1965.
Environment Agency (EA)
The Agency's role is the enforcement of specified laws and regulations aimed at protecting the environment, in the context of sustainable development, predominantly by authorising and controlling radioactive discharges and waste disposals to air, water (surface water, groundwater) and land. In addition to authorisations issued under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993, the EA also regulates nuclear sites under the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations and issues consents for non-radioactive discharges. The equivalent body in Scotland is the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
Euratom
Within the European Union, nuclear matters are the subject of a separate Treaty dating from 1957. This established the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC) or EURATOM, which was set up to encourage progress in the field of nuclear energy.
Fellside Heat and Power Ltd
BNFL holds 50% of the ordinary shares in the company which produces electricity through combined heat and power. It has a capacity of 170MW, of which 24-26MW goes to the Sellafield site and the remaining 142-146MW goes to the National Grid. It is situated just outside the licensed site at Sellafield.
Fuel/Nuclear Fuel
Material containing fissile nuclides which, in a reactor, produces the neutrons necessary to sustain a neutron chain reaction.
Harwell (Oxfordshire)
A former RAF base which was the UK's first centre for nuclear research and development. It now houses a number of redundant research facilities, including low energy reactors and materials testing reactors. Decommissioning is well advanced. Roughly half the land is subject to a nuclear licence. The remainder, separated by a security fence is unlicensed. UKAEA's headquarters are located at Harwell and the site is being progressively restored and transformed into a science and technology business park - Harwell International Business Centre.
Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
A statutory body whose role is the enforcement of work related health and safety law under the general direction of the Health and Safety Commission established by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. HSE is the licensing authority for nuclear installations. The Nuclear Safety Directorate of HSE exercises this delegated authority through the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate who are responsible for regulating the nuclear, radiological and industrial safety of nuclear installations UK wide.
High Level Waste (HLW)
HLW is heat-generating waste that has accumulated since the early 1950s at Sellafield and Dounreay, primarily from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. The temperature in HLW may rise significantly, so this factor has to be taken into account in designing storage or disposal facilities.
Hinkley Point A (Somerset)
A closed Magnox power station (two reactors) that operated from 1965 to 2000.
Hunterston A (Ayrshire)
A closed Magnox power station (two reactors) that operated from 1964 to 1990.
Intermediate Level Waste (ILW)
Wastes with radioactivity levels exceeding the upper boundaries for Low Level Waste, but which do not need heating to be taken into account in the design of storage or disposal facilities. ILW arises mainly from the reprocessing of spent fuel, and from general operations and maintenance of radioactive plant. The major components of ILW are metals and organic materials, with smaller quantities of cement, graphite, glass and ceramics.
IAEA
International Atomic Energy Agency.
JET
The Joint European Torus fusion research project based at UKAEA's Culham site and operated by UKAEA on behalf of Euratom.
KPIs
Key Performance Indicators. These are performance targets written into contracts against which actual performance is measured. In the case of the NDA, it will agree KPIs with site operators which will include progress made in clean up work, as well as performance against safety, security and environmental criterion.
Liabilities
The costs involved in decommissioning; the processing, long term management, storage and final disposal of waste materials and spent fuel; and the environmental remediation of nuclear sites.
Low Level Waste (LLW)
Includes metals, soil, building rubble and organic materials, which arise principally as lightly contaminated miscellaneous scrap. Metals are mostly in the form of redundant equipment. Organic materials are mainly in the form of paper towels, clothing and laboratory equipment that have been used in areas where radioactive materials are used - such as hospitals, research establishments and industry.
LMA
Liabilities Management Authority. The former name given to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).
LMU
Liabilities Management Unit. A unit set up within the DTI to strengthen its ability to drive forward work on the nuclear legacy and help to prepare the ground for the LMA.
Magnox
The magnesium alloy used as a cladding material in Magnox type reactors.
Magnox Reactor
A term for the first generation of British power reactors (at Berkeley, Bradwell, Calder Hall, Chapelcross, Dungeness A, Hinkley Point A, Hunterston A, Oldbury, Sizewell A, Trawsfynyddand Wylfa) from the use of "Magnox" as the cladding material.
MoD
Ministry of Defence.
MOX
Mixed Oxide fuel, made up of around 95% uranium and 5% plutonium.
MRWS
Managing Radioactive Waste Safely. The name given to a consultation paper published in 2001 addressing future requirements for safe radioactive waste management. It set out a programme to review the options for management of solid radioactive waste and decide on a strategy for long term protection.
NDA
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. The new body currently being set up by Government to take on financial and strategic responsibility for nuclear legacy clean up.
NDPB
Non-Departmental Public Body. A body which has a role in the processes of national Government, but is not a government department or part of one, and which accordingly operates to a greater or lesser extent at arm's length from Ministers. More simply, this means a national or regional public body, operating independently of Ministers, but for which Ministers are ultimately responsible.
Neutrons
Produced by the splitting, or fissioning of certain atoms inside a nuclear reactor. Neutron radiation is very penetrating and water and concrete are therefore used as protection against it.
NIREX
The company established to manage long term disposal of ILW arising from nuclear waste management and decommissioning.
NLIP
Nuclear Liabilities Investment Portfolio. Investment assets in BNFL's balance sheet earmarked for the discharge of future nuclear liabilities.
OCPA
Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
Office for Civil Nuclear Security(OCNS)
An autonomous DTI unit which regulates security arrangements in the civil nuclear industry, including security of nuclear material in transit, exercising statutory powers on behalf of the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. This is primarily in order to protect against the threats of terrorism and nuclear proliferation.
Oldbury (Glos)
A Magnox power station (two reactors) that started operation in 1967.
OSPAR
The Oslo-Paris convention which established requirements on the level of nuclear and nonnuclear discharges to the marine environment of the North East Atlantic, the North Sea and the Irish Sea.
PNTL
Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited. A subsidiary of BNFL which operates a fleet of purpose built ships capable of carrying all categories of nuclear material.
POCO
Post Operational Clean Out. The first stage in preparing plant for care and maintenance after operations have ceased.
PPP
Public Private Partnership.
PWR
Pressurised Water Reactor - a reactor whose primary coolant is maintained under such a pressure that no bulk boiling occurs. The reactor uses water as a moderator or as coolant. In the UK, Sizewell B is one such reactor operated by British Energy.
Radioactive Half-Life
The time required for one half of the atoms of a particular radionuclide to disintegrate. Each radionuclide has a unique half-life.
Radioactive Waste
Any material contaminated by or incorporating radioactivity above thresholds defined in legislation is known as radioactive waste.
Reactor Core
That part of the reactor which contains the fuel elements.
Reactor Pressure Vessel
A reactor vessel designed to withstand a substantial operating pressure.
Reprocessing
The removal of the metal casing from around the fuel and dissolving the fuel in hot, concentrated nitric acid. The uranium, plutonium and waste which are dissolved in this way are then separated from each other using several chemical processes.
Risley (Cheshire)
Home to BNFL's Headquarters. A core team of UKAEA safety management and project planning staff is also based at Risley. The site was originally owned by UKAEA and set up as a centre for reactor engineering. It was sold to a development company in 1998.
Scottish Environment ProtectionAgency (SEPA)
Scottish equivalent of the EA.
Sealed Source
A 'sealed source' is a device in which a radioactive material has been contained within an outer casing. This outer casing makes an accidental release of the contents extremely unlikely. Sealed sources have an extensive range of medical, educational and industrial uses, notably in general diagnosis and cancer treatments, and in the oil and gas industries.
Sellafield (Cumbria)
Home to BNFL's reprocessing operations, aswell as waste management and fuel recycling operations. The site was opened in 1947.
Sizewell A (Suffolk)
Site of a Magnox power station (two reactors) that has operated since 1966.
SMP
The Sellafield MOX Plant.
Spent Fuel
Spent nuclear fuel is fuel removed from a reactor after final use. The main commercial UK fuels are Magnox, AGR and PWR. Typically, spent fuel is made up of approximately 96% unreacted uranium, 1% plutonium, and 3% waste products. The precise composition depends largely on the type of reactor and the amount of power produced by the fuel.
Springfields (Lancs)
Home of BNFL's UK fuel manufacturing operations since 1946.
Storage
Is the emplacement of waste in a suitable facility with the intent to retrieve it at a later date.
THORP
BNFL's THermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant.
Thurso (Caithness)
A small office housing UKAEA pensions administration staff is located in Thurso, a few miles east of Dounreay.
Trawsfynydd (Gwynedd)
Site of a Magnox power station (two reactors) that operated from 1965 to 1993. This station is the only one not built on the coast. Instead its water supplies were provided by a lake.
TUPE
Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations. These provide for terms and conditions to be protected upon transfer as a matter of law. This will cover severance pay, early retirement following redundancy, and injury benefits.
UKAEA
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority.
Urenco
A uranium enrichment business, based at Marlow in Buckinghamshire. BNFL holds a one third share of Urenco Ltd.
Very Low Level Waste (VLLW)
Covers wastes with very low concentrations of radioactivity. It arises from a variety of sources, including hospitals and the wider non-nuclear industry. Because VLLW contains little total radioactivity, it has been safely treated as it has arisen by various means, such as disposal with domestic refuse directly at landfill sites or indirectly after incineration.
Westinghouse
Part of BNFL, it provides fuel, services, technology, plant design and equipment to utility and industrial customers around the world.
Westlakes
A science park, partly supported by BNFL, that aims to stimulate the knowledge base in West Cumbria thereby contributing to its economic regeneration and sustainability.
Windscale (Cumbria)
A small enclave located within BNFL's Sellafield site and is the focus for two important nuclear decommissioning projects - the Windscale Piles and the prototype Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor. The site is on long term lease to UKAEA which also holds the nuclear site licence. This is separate to the licence held by BNFL for the Sellafield site.
Winfrith (Dorset)
Created as a centre for prototype reactor development in the 1960s and is the youngest of UKAEA's sites. It houses a number of redundant prototype reactors, including the Steam Generating Heavy Water reactor. The site is on the fast-track for decommissioning and site restoration and, as Winfrith Technology Centre, is being developed as a focus for business development in Dorset.
Wylfa (Gwynedd)
Site of a Magnox power station (two reactors) that commenced operation in 1971. Wylfa is BNFL's largest power station.
back to top
|
|
| Print version |
|
|
|
|
|
Word document of the Glossary |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
