Dounreay Engineer Wins Young Chemical Engineer Of The Year

2nd October 2024

A young engineer working on Britain's deepest nuclear clean-up project has been recognised by the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).

Liam Gordon (27) won the Young Chemical Engineer of the Year award at the annual showcase event of the Aberdeen branch of IChemE, the professional body for chemical engineers in the UK.

Judges were impressed by his work prototyping the complex machinery that will be used to process radioactive and chemical waste from the shaft and silo facilities at Dounreay.

The 2 below-ground facilities house a variety of hazardous waste generated during Britain's efforts in the 20th century to develop fast breeder reactors as a source of electrical power.

The shaft in particular is one of Britain's most difficult clean-up jobs, with remotely-operated machinery descending over 200 feet into the rock to retrieve 20 years' worth of radioactive waste disposals.

Dounreay’s operator, Nuclear Restoration Services, is piecing together the complex array of equipment that needs to be installed to remove, process and package the variety of waste.

Liam explained, "There will be no human access to any of the plant being used to retrieve, sort, categorise and package the waste - it will all be done remotely, so it is really important we have confidence in the choice of kit we use.

The maintenance will be done by taking out and replacing the various units - no-one will be going in there once the waste begins to pass through it. My job role involves working within the multidisciplinary team that is tasked with prototyping the units.

The work to clean out both facilities and get the waste into a form that is suitable for long-term storage or disposal is one of the site’s major projects. Construction of the headworks and waste processing facilities is expected to start about 2030.

Liam, from Buckie, is a Masters graduate in chemical engineering from the University of Strathclyde who joined Dounreay’s graduate scheme in 2021. He is one of 15 engineers at the site on the IChemE’s chartership pathway.

Dr Naomi Mawby, Director of Dounreay’s Balance of Site programme which includes the shaft and silo project, said, "We’re immensely proud of all our engineers and it’s fantastic to see Liam being recognised by his peers in this way. Dounreay offers young professionals great opportunities to develop their skills and careers on some really complex and demanding jobs, and Liam’s award is richly deserved.