United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, Calder Hall

Sectors:

  • Utility services Electricity generation & supply
  • Oil, coal, coke, etc, products manufacture Nuclear fuel processing
  • Professional services Research & development services

Notes:

Formed in 1954 as a statutory corporation / research organisation concerned with production, use and disposal of atomic energy for both civil and military purposes. Its assets included Calder Hall, an electricity generating and plutonium production facility. Another early facility was the Dounreay Nuclear Power Development Establishment formed in 1955 to carry forward the civil fast breeder reactor programme The UKAEA quickly grew to be of substantial size, employing c40,000 by 1961. From 1970s reorganised when retained only research functions. Its various off-springs included British Nuclear Fuels Ltd, formed to acquire its nuclear fuel production and disposal activities, etc, and Radiochemical Centre Ltd, later known as Amersham International Ltd and floated, formed to carry on production of industrial and medical radioisotopes. In early 1990s various research activities with commercial potential were hived off into AEA Technology and floated. There were subsequent disposals. Continues in 2012 as a publicly owned body concerned in particular with decommissioning of nuclear facilities

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