Other Public Services News
FIRST OF DOUNREAY FUEL PLANTS IS DEMOLISHED Demolition has started on the first of Dounreay's redundant nuclear fuel plants. The fuel fabrication facility manufactured more than 10,000 fuel elements for research material test reactors in the UK and abroad, until it was shut down in 2004.
4th December 2007 SHAFT ISOLATION PROJECT AHEAD OF SCHEDULE Dounreay's shaft isolation is currently one month ahead of schedule. The project team has completed 75 per cent of the drilling and grouting required to construct the isolation barrier around the shaft.
GO-AHEAD FOR NEW WASTE FACILITY Dounreay has received authorisation from regulators to commence active commissioning of a newly-constructed waste-handling facility. The facility cost �10 million to construct and will increase the site's capacity for storing solid intermediate level waste from the clean-up and demolition of the fast reactor experiment.
30th October 2007 CLEAN-UP TEAM BEGINS TO STRIP FAST REACTOR Ripping out the innards of Dounreay's famous dome has begun, with the stripping out of the integral reactor ducting and associated equipment that once helped power Britain's first fast breeder reactor. The reactor well ventilation ducting and some electro-magnetic pump ductwork is being removed from the sphere in order to minimise hazards for future decommissioning work and to open up access routes for the removal of the DFR breeder.
DOUNREAY ANNOUNCES PARTICLES CLEAN-UP PLAN. The clean-up operation for radioactive particles offshore could be substantially complete within seven years while onshore monitoring with removal of detected particles would continue for a longer period if UKAEA's recommended way forward is accepted.
The Dounreay site newspaper for Octoebr 2007 is now out and can be read online here..
The way people in Scotland use water must change if we are to continue enjoying the healthy Scottish environment and adapt to climate change impacts. The pressure we put on Scotland's water resources comes under the spotlight in a consultation report published today (9 October 2007) by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).
The clean-up operation for radioactive particles offshore could be substantially complete within seven years while onshore monitoring with removal of detected particles would continue for a longer period if UKAEA's recommended way forward is accepted. Following a review of all the information gained from public consultation, studies, test & trials, independent expert reports, improvements in the monitoring technologies and the knowledge gained by offshore mapping surveys, it is believed that an environmentally and publicly acceptable clean up could be achieved within this timescale.
Waste has been a hot topic in the media recently. With television shows, news reports and events all highlighting the issue of the need to reduce the waste we produce and it seems the message is getting through.
This year's Dounreay Apprentices Indenture ceremony took place on 21 September in the Pentland Hotel. Ten apprentices, from UKAEA and Johnson Controls, received their certificates from John Thurso MP, the guest speaker.
This year's Dounreay Apprentices Indenture ceremony took place on 21 September in the Pentland Hotel. Ten apprentices, from UKAEA and Johnson Controls, received their certificates from John Thurso MP, the guest speaker.
An employer-led proposal has won government approval from the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) for the creation of a National Skills Academy for Nuclear. The announcement made by the Skills Minister David Lammy, 24th September 2007, follows the evaluation of a detailed business plan which was submitted to the DIUS in May 2007.
Management from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine have spent this week at Dounreay learning how Britain is decommissioning its fast reactor programme. The primary interest of the delegation has been to share and compare the experience of Chernobyl in managing the change from reactor operations to decommissioning.
REACTOR CLEAN-UP TEAM REACH SAFETY MILESTONE Safety and environmental performance is a way of life for staff and contractors working at Dounreay's Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR). They have clocked up a thousand days without a lost time accident - a commendable achievement given the enormous range of decommissioning work undertaken at the plant and the mix of companies involved.
Shutting down and cleaning up the fast reactor experiment at Dounreay forms a large part of the economy in the north Highlands. It is worth an estimated �80 million a year to Caithness and north Sutherland and accounts for one in every five jobs locally.
A structure to deliver a regeneration strategy is being overseen by an executive board comprising the chief executives of HIE and Highland Council and the director of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Region 4. Following a period of public consultation on the strategy for Caithness and north Sutherland, a detailed action plan is being developed with the input of partner organisations.
The August 2007 site newspaper from Dounreay is available as Pdf - See: http://www.ukaea.org.uk/news/publications_dounreay_news.html .
Highlands and Islands regional Labour MSP David Stewart has called for action on the Caithness economy following a visit to Dounreay. Mr Stewart said, "I had a useful and informative visit to Dounreay and met with trade union representatives and Dounreay Director Simon Middlemass.
A new section of website focusing on the regeneration efforts in Caithness and North Sutherland has been launched. The importance of the work now going on cannot be underestimated and a look at the bottom of this page shows the bodies involved in this new process to find a new future for the far north post Dounreay.
ANNUAL REPORT HIGHLIGHTS DECOMMISSIONING PROGRESS The annual report on progress to decommission Dounreay has been published by UKAEA, which is responsible for carrying out the safe clean-up and demolition of the site on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). It covers the 12-month period from April 1, 2006.