Particle found at site of proposed Dounreay Low Level Waste facility

EXT01 – B04

Byron Tilly, SEPA's Radioactive Substances Unit Manager, said:

"The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) received notification from DSRL, as per normal practice, of the detection and recovery of a fuel fragment and two shovels worth of radioactive waste. These were detected while DSRL was monitoring the footprint of the proposed new low level waste facility. The active material has been removed. This is the first known find of such a fragment in this particular area. Approximately one third of the area of the new facility has been monitored to date. The fuel fragment was recovered some 240m inland from the sea cliffs and the two shovels worth of radioactive waste some 300m inland of the sea cliffs, both in rough ground. The fragment was recovered at 5-10 cm depth.

"This fuel fragment would be classified as "minor" according to the DPAG categorisation and does not present a significant hazard to the public. However, its discovery in this location is unexpected and SEPA has requested that DSRL conduct a thorough investigation into the possible source of the material, and how it came to be in this location.

"SEPA has also asked DSRL to consider the wider implications of its findings with respect to other land bordering the site and coastal strip, and in particular with respect to any requirement for further monitoring.

"SEPA will take account of this work as part of the radioactive contaminated land assessment that the agency is carrying out in respect of fragments of irradiated nuclear fuel in the local Dounreay environment."

Ends

Note to Editors

  • Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL) is the site licence company responsible for the closure programme at Britain's former centre of fast reactor research and development. DSRL has held the site licence, waste disposal authorisation and other necessary legal permits for managing the site since April 1, 2008. Before then, the site was managed by the UK Atomic Energy Authority external link. DSRL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of UKAEA external link and operates under contract to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).

  • The Dounreay Particles Advisory Group (DPAG) was set up in 2000 to produce impartial scientific advice to SEPA and to UKAEA on the matter of fragments in the marine environment off the Dounreay coast.