Dear Nuclear Decommissioning Authority,

1.Please can you provide outline details of where spent fuel from UK nuclear power stations is currently recycled into the vitrified waste and transuranic and U-238 components for use in other reactors when and as appropriate, and where these products are now finally stored after processing.

This request is to fill the information vacuum I have regarding such work since the closure of the long term facility created for the Magnox reactors.

2. QUESTION: Is the UK, a fortunate nuclear nation in energy and weaponry, planning to exploit its hard won nuclear expertise, in fact reinvigorate it, so we can service nuclear needs around the world as a trusted nuclear nation as by product of our growing reinvestment in nuclear energy?

Can you indicate the current policy, or the policy paper, on the UK's plans to reinvigorate its nuclear industry to take advantage of the global needs for the only physically realistic replacement for intense fossil energy, by both regional grid sealed modular SMR to full scale power plant technologies to deliver clean, low cost, sustainable and zero CO2 nuclear energy, that we appear to be in danger of losing all the essential skills to design, manufacture and operate in a sovereign manner when the clean fracked gas has finally gone?

Yours faithfully,

Eur Ing Brian RL Catt CEng, CPhys, MBA

CONTEXT: The export possibilities for a "legitimate" nuclear nation, in all or part of future reactor supply and fuel management, are obvious, as is the way to redevelop these skills as part of our foreign reactor build program, as China has, and which build is likely to become the largest in W Europe, given the EU obsession with the undeliverable in energy physics fact renewable "solutions"..... and the French swopping of effective, low cost, zero CO2 nuclear power plants for Windmills... etc. Although I note AREVA has signed to produce NuScales fuel. We could do that. They can't even weld a reactor vessel safely for their own EPR. We should be able to steal their lunch with ease.

I note the Russians moving ahead, also the Chinese, Koreans and Indians, the Russians going for a generational lead, with their "breakthrough" programme. Also the USA's recent investment at INL, ORNL and elsewhere to develop new fuel for new fuel cycles, and addressing their indecision regarding the reprocessing of waste at all, although Argonne Labs seem to be ready to supply developed technology, if the politicians get off their backsides and allow the essential processing their legacy spent fuel mountain, so Carlsbad can start taking the storage of the vitrified waste and ILW. etc. They just have to get the money right.

There is a strategic opportunity in nuclear as the base load energy supply of choice, eventually the only such intense energy source, also in the interim as a clean energy source to conserve sovereign reserves of fossil energy for essential uses such as flight, military, agriculture, etc. Which renewables are also useless at in comparison, and far too expensive on LCOE. Which is all obs, of course, but I see no interest in it , when we can also be part of nuclearising the 3d World so they can prosper without needing to burn coal and gas, for example, as they have leapfrogged a generation of phone infrastructure going straight to mobile. Engineers know renewables cannot power the demands of a developed economy as the energy sources are woefully inadequate to match demand 24/7 and cannot track demand, or even generate 2/3 of the time. We should be developing and building what works, that people will want to buy, and we can maintain as a turnkey nuclear electricity service contracts, etc. But those are only the rational physics and business facts.