Dounreay
Dounreay was once Britain's centre for fast reactor research and
development. Now the 140-acre site in Caithness is the largest
nuclear decommissioning project in Scotland and the second largest
in the UK, after Sellafield. Dounreay is planned to be fully
decommissioned by 2033.
The Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment, operated by the
Ministry of Defence (Procurement Executive), is also located next
to the site. The impact of its discharges is considered along with
those from Dounreay.
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA)
As of 1 April 2007, the Dounreay site assets belong to the NDA.
The NDA has contracted United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
(UKAEA) to manage the decommissioning process.
A new site licence company called Dounreay Site Restoration
Limited (DSRL) has been formed, who are capable of holding the site
licence, the SEPA authorisations and other necessary permits. SEPA
is currently determining applications to transfer existing
authorisations from UKAEA to DSRL. Initially, the new site licence
company belongs to UKAEA. A new parent body organisation, UKAEA
Ltd, will become the 'parent' organisation for DRSL pending
competition in 2008. The successful bidder is expected to take over
ownership of DSRL in 2009.
Issues
Some of the current issues with
the Dounreay site include low level waste
management, radioactive particles released to the local
environment, and the transfer of operational
activities from UKAEA to DSRL. Following the statement
from Scottish Ministers that low level radioactive waste generated
by Dounreay must be dealt with on (or very close to) the site,
several challenges exist in building facilities to receive this
waste. (The waste includes historic waste and large amount of
further waste which will be generated by the site during
decommissioning.)
Proposed Low Level Waste Facilities
In June 2006, the current site operator UKAEA made a planning
application to the Highland Council for low level waste disposal
facilities. SEPA is a statutory consultee in the process, and we
are required to provide a response to the council on the
environmental impact of the proposed facility and its use.
Dounreay Particles Advisory Group
The Dounreay Particles Advisory Group makes scientific and
technical recommendations to SEPA and UKAEA about ways to improve
the monitoring and research programmes for particles in local
sediments.
Dounreay Particles Research
SEPA has commissioned research work into the issue of irradiated
nuclear fuel particles in the environment around Dounreay.