B205 is the name of the magnox nuclear reprocessing plant at Windscale in northern England. This plant uses PUREX chemistry (based on TBP tributyl phosphate) to extract plutonium and uranium from used nuclear fuel.[1]. The plant was originally constructed and operated by UKAEA, but in 1971 control was transferred to British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BFNL). Magnox is an obsolesent type of nuclear power reactor; When operated on a short fuel cycle (which is uneconomic) they can also produce plutonium for nuclear weapons. ... Nuclear reprocessing separates any usable elements (e. ... Sellafield aerial view. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st... The PUREX process is used to reprocess spent nuclear fuel, in order to extract uranium and plutonium, independent of each other, from the fission products. ... TBP is an abbreviation and a TLA for: Tau Beta Pi, an engineering honor society Time-Bound Programmes for the Eradication of the Worst forms of Child Labour, programmes offered by the International Labour Organisations International Programme for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (IPEC) to... General Name, Symbol, Number plutonium, Pu, 94 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery white Atomic mass (244) g/mol Electron configuration [Rn] 5f6 7s2 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 24, 8, 2 Physical properties Phase solid Density (near r. ... General Name, Symbol, Number uranium, U, 92 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery gray metallic; corrodes to a spalling black oxide coat in air Atomic mass 238. ... Used low enriched uranium nuclear fuel is an example of a nanomaterial which existed before the term nano became fashionable, in the oxide fuel intense temperture gradients exist which cause fission products to migrate. ... The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority was established in 1954 as a statutory corporation to oversee and pioneer the development of nuclear energy within the United Kingdom. ... Categories: Government of the UK | Stub ...

B205 was commissioned in 1964 as a replacement for England's first nuclear reprocessing plant, B204, which was converted into a pre-handling plant for B205 and recommissioned in 1969. In 1973, after both plants had been shut down for one year for repairs, the B204 plant exploded during startup, contaminating the entire plant and 34 workers with ruthenium-106. Following this explosion the B204 plant was permanently decommissioned [2].

Over it's lifetime, the B205 plant has handled over 35,000 tons of expended magnox fuel, and returned over 15,000 tons of uranium to the fuel cycle. Currently the British nuclear industry is in the process of discontinuing the use of all magnox fueled reactors, with a target date of 2010, and the B205 plant is slated for decommissioning around 2012 after all fuel has been reprocessed [3].

See also

• Reprocessed uranium