Dounreay Particles Advisory Group (DPAG) 4th Report:
SEPA Response
EXT01 – B04
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) which is
advised by DPAG, has today released the group's Fourth Report. It
details the work that has been done on the potential for future
sources of particles, particle characteristics and behaviour,
evaluation of the performance of detection systems and commentary
on the adequacy of existing monitoring.
Considerable progress has been made since the release of the
Third Report in November 2006, which brought together the diverse
aspects of radioactive particles around Dounreay. There is a
greater understanding of the properties of the particles being
found, which has allowed the group to reconsider any potential
health effects. The TROL system for detecting particles in the sea,
and the Groundhog Evolution 2 monitoring system have significantly
improved particle discovery.
SEPA's Radioactive Substances Unit Manager, Byron Tilly,
said:
"This report makes a further important contribution to our
understanding of the situation at Dounreay. It follows on from the
good work done previously by DPAG, and will enable us to improve
our knowledge of the sources of particles and how they behave. This
will inform the future arrangements for retrieval of particles,
monitoring of the environment around Dounreay, and decommissioning
of the old diffuser through which effluent was historically
discharged. "
Ends
Notes to editors
- DPAG minutes are available on the SEPA
website and previous reports
are also available.
- DPAG provides advice to SEPA and DSRL about this issue and
recommends further actions. However, regulatory decisions about
Dounreay are the responsibility of SEPA.