Other Public Services News
15/2/2010
Pentland Alliance Backs Apprentice Skills Project For Caithness
Pentland Alliance, the joint venture comprising AMEC, CH2M HILL and UKAEA/Babcock, is to sponsor an important apprentice skills programme for the Caithness region in the north of Scotland. The sponsorship was announced on Thursday, February 11th in Manchester at the National Skills Academy for Nuclear/Cogent Annual Skills Awards Dinner.
12/2/2010
Dounreay Heritage - Have Your Say
Dounreay was the centre of the UK's fast reactor research and development programme from 1955 until 1994, and is now Scotland's largest nuclear clean-up and demolition project. By 2025, DSRL expects to have completed the decommissioning of the site.
12/2/2010
Dounreay News - February 2010
The latest edition of Dounreay News is available at http://www.dounreay.com/news-room/dounreay-news Always packed with photos of past events and current activities at the site..
7/2/2010
Coolant destruction is 4000 times cleaner than expected
Emissions from a plant built to destroy one of Britain's biggest environmental hazards have been up to 4000 times cleaner than its designers expected. Engineers believed they could reduce the levels of radioactivity in effluent from a new liquid metal destruction plant by up to a thousand times at most.23/1/2010
Homeaid Caithness To Expand With New Funding
A Caithness and Sutherland charity which helps hundreds of local people every year who are facing hardship is expanding its services. Homeaid, which redistributes donated household items to the elderly and low income residents, is planning to buy a shop in Wick and extend its warehouse in Thurso.14/12/2009
Dounreay to become UK's first nuclear heritage project
Within a few years, much of the experimental nuclear site at Dounreay will disappear from the landscape. Many of the facilities that have dominated the skyline of Scotland's north coast for the past 50 years will be razed to the ground.
9/11/2009
Fast breeder was Britain's 'man on the moon moment'
It was Britain's man-on-the-moon moment, when a decade of scientific and engineering breakthroughs culminated in the most advanced nuclear plant in the world. A workforce of 3000 had laboured around the clock for four years to build the experimental plant that would pave the way for electricity "too cheap to meter".
12/10/2009
Chamber Slams Crown Estate Delay On Seabed Leases
Commenting upon reports by Reuters last week that the Crown Estate will announce seabed leases for the Pentland Firth development in February 2010, Trudy Morris, Chief Executive of Caithness Chamber of Commerce said: "We are extremely concerned by this delay. We were told back in August that conclusion of seabed leases would happen in the autumn.9/10/2009
New Area Commander Returns To Caithness
Third time's a charm for Chief Inspector Matthew Reiss as he returns to Caithness, Sutherland and East Ross as Area Commander They say third time's a charm and that's certainly true for Chief Inspector Matthew Reiss as he returns to his favourite area of the Force next month. The newly promoted Chief Inspector takes over the role of Area Commander for Caithness, Sutherland and East Ross on November 2 following the recent departure of his predecessor Chief Inspector Andy Brown.
29/9/2009
Camera Team To Probe Underground Waste
A decommissioning team is getting ready to look inside an underground bunker where intermediate-level radioactive waste has lain submerged in water for almost 40 years. Two remotely-operated cameras will penetrate the concrete-lined vault in preparation for work starting to clean out its hazardous contents.29/9/2009
Dounreay Is Platform For Scots Clean-up Expertise
Scottish companies are marketing their expertise in nuclear decommissioning to delegates from seven countries that are in Scotland to learn how the country is dismantling its nuclear heritage. The visit is being seen as an opportunity for companies in Scotland to gain a bigger share of a global market worth hundreds of billions over the next few decades.22/8/2009
Radio Active Particles Found On Farm Land Near Dounreay
Two small areas of radioactive contamination have been detected during a survey of grazing land adjacent to the former nuclear research site at Dounreay. They were excavated and removed to the site for analysis.22/8/2009
Over One Hundred Nuclear Fuel Particles Removed
More than a hundred fragments of spent nuclear fuel were removed from the seabed in the latest phase of work to clean up and shut down the former nuclear research site at Dounreay. The particles were detected and retrieved by a remotely-operated vehicle that systematically scanned an area of seabed equivalent in size to more than 10 football pitches.21/8/2009
Massive Metal Tank Removed At Dounreay
This is the latest challenge Dounreay's Prototype Fast Reactor decommissioning team have had to conquer. Once an integral part of the heat transfer system, the first of the four colossal metal tanks was safely removed from the redundant plant last week.
500th Request For Business Assistance
The Business information and advice service for the Highland and Moray Councils which is delivered by The Highland Council's Enterprise Trust, Highland Opportunity Limited, has just reached its first major milestone today with at total of 500 requests for advice and assistance having been received since the service started on 1st April. Enquiries to Business Gateway have come via the national website www.bgateway.com and the national telephone number 0845 609 6611 and 30% of enquiries have come from people visiting the walk-in shops in Inverness and Elgin where business advisers are on hand to answer queries and provide information.1/6/2009
BUSINESS NETWORKING BREAKFAST TOWN REGENERATION
MONDAY 15 JUNE 2009 CAITHNESS HORIZONS, THURSO 7.30am - 9.30am Presentation by Andy Kennedy Stirling City Centre Manager & Chair of Scotland's Association of Town Centre Management ATCM is Europe`s largest membership organisation dedicated to helping town and city centres realise their natural roles both as prosperous locations for business and investment, and as focal points for vibrant, inclusive communities. Come along & hear how other town centres in Scotland have realised their potential.21/5/2009
Eight-ton Fans Will Drive Fuel Plants Clean-up
Like a giant Meccano set, some 1500 parts are being fitted together to create a new ventilation system that will protect workers decommissioning some of Dounreay's most hazardous facilities. The network of fans, electrical infrastructure, supports, ducts, chambers and stacks will vent the airflow during the next stages of cleaning out and dismantling the key plants that made up the Fuel Cycle Area.
15/5/2009
Dounreay Gains Planning Permission For Two Big Construction Projects
Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd has received planning consent for two of the biggest construction projects needed to complete the site clean-up. The new facilities will look after low and intermediate-level radioactive waste from the remainder of the site closure programme.
30/4/2009
Banks Agree To Help Caithness Companies With New Government Initiaitives
Highland based banks agree to help Caithness companies benefit from new Government funding initiatives Representatives from the main Banks operating in the Caithness area have agreed to share their understanding of the new government initiatives with local businesses at a specially convened event at the Weigh Inn Hotel, Thurso on 8th May from 1pm. Businesses have been suffering from the effects of recession and the 'credit crunch' making life more difficult for those seeking to grow or simply survive.26/4/2009
