Decommissioning

A number of Scotland’s licensed nuclear facilities have reached the end of their productive life and are in varying stages of decommissioning and site clean-up.

Decommissioning is an immense undertaking, with a timescale that can extend from decades to 100s of years. As Scotland’s environmental regulator, SEPA ensures that all wastes produced during the decommissioning and clean-up of nuclear facilities do not pose a threat to the environment or human health.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA)

The NDA has overall responsibility for developing and implementing a strategy to decommission 20 former nuclear sites across the UK. There are three in Scotland:

• Dounreay
• Chapelcross
• Hunterson A

SEPA has agreed a Memorandum of Understanding with the NDA, in which they agree to develop and maintain an effective and transparent working relationship.

• More on the NDA

Ministry of Defence

The Ministry of Defence is responsible for decommissioning naval nuclear sites:

• Rosyth dockyard