Editing Magnox (section)

===Magnox alloy===
{{main|magnox (alloy)}}
'''Magnox''' is also the name of an [[alloy]]—mainly of [[magnesium]] with small amounts of [[aluminium]] and other metals—used in cladding unenriched [[uranium]] metal fuel with a non-oxidising covering to contain fission products. '''Magnox''' is short for '''mag'''nesium '''n'''on-'''ox'''idising. This material has the advantage of a low [[neutron]] capture cross-section, but has two major disadvantages:
*It limits the maximum temperature, and hence the [[thermal efficiency]], of the plant.
*It reacts with water, preventing long-term storage of spent fuel under water.

Magnox fuel incorporated cooling fins to provide maximum heat transfer despite low operating temperatures, making it expensive to produce. While the use of uranium metal rather than oxide made reprocessing more straightforward and therefore cheaper, the need to reprocess fuel a short time after removal from the reactor meant that the fission product hazard was severe. Expensive remote handling facilities were required to address this danger.