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Production and destination of British civil plutonium

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The amount of plutonium produced by the Magnox reactors belonging to the CEGB and SSEB is estimated using three different methods which give similar results for total plutonium production. The difference between this total and the UK civil plutonium inventory is 6.3 ± 0.8 tonne. This balance was apparently sent to the United States in exchange for fissile material for UK military requirements. The US destinations published by the UK government appear to accommodate significantly less plutonium.

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Barnham, K., Hart, D., Nelson, J. et al. Production and destination of British civil plutonium. Nature 317, 213–217 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/317213a0

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