Dounreay Dome Paint Job Scrapped

24th March 2011

Bosses at Dounreay agreed that they won't now be spending £500,000 on a repaint of the sphere.

They money saved will go instead towards actual decommissioning work. The sphere's been repainted every 10 years for as long as anyone can remember. And the cycle is repeated every decade of the lifetime plan for the site.

Its next coat was due over the next 18 months or so. But that's been changed after
DFR paint job scrapped "This looks like a ludicrous waste of public funds," Highlands and Islands MSP Dave Stewart told The Sun. the decision last year to scrap the
sphere once the reactor is decommissioned.

The saving will help to reduce the cost to taxpayers of decommissioning site. The girder area may still need to be repainted to maintain it in a safe condition for workers. But the bulk of the sphere doesn't need repainted to maintain the containment around the reactor inside the sphere.

The steel is thick enough to last a lot longer than the time it will take to dismantle the reactor.