The UK’s historic nuclear legacy comprises nuclear sites and facilities operated by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL); the wastes, materials and spent fuels produced between the 1940s and 1960s; and the Magnox fleet of nuclear power stations designed and built in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
In total, the NDA is responsible for:
The NDA estate includes 39 reactors (gas, water and metal cooled), 5 fuel reprocessing plants, 3 fuel fabrication plants, 1 redundant enrichment plant, and 5 nuclear laboratory complexes.
Although private sector nuclear sites remain the financial responsibility of the operator concerned, the Energy Act acknowledges that the Government bears ultimate responsibility for the safe and secure decommissioning and clean-up. If a private sector operator is unable to meet its decommissioning obligations, the NDA can be asked to take responsibility for managing the clean-up, with the operator meeting the full costs or as large a proportion as possible.