In April 2021, Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd (DSRL) became a subsidiary company of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) Group. The Cavendish Dounreay Partnership ceased.
Dounreay's waste team is carrying out the first in a series of campaigns to seal the waste into place in the low level waste vaults. As part of the waste disposal process, the spaces between the containers in the low level waste vault are being filled with grout.
Responding to the release of further details from the UK Government on the energy support plan for business, Trudy Morris, Chief Executive of Caithness Chamber of Commerce, said: "Whilst it is welcome that the UK Government has finally responded and stepped up to provide an initial support package for firms by capping wholesale energy prices for six months, it is simply not enough. We hope that the Chancellor's fiscal statement on Friday, will give more detail on support for businesses.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and the National Decommissioning Centre (NDC) have signed a three-year collaborative research agreement - the first of its kind between the nuclear and oil and gas decommissioning sectors. The unique strategic partnership, supporting research with a potential value of up to £900,000, will see the NDA work with researchers from the University of Aberdeen in areas of mutual interest to both the nuclear and oil and gas sectors.
From STV on leaks at Dounreay. Nuclear regulators have chastised the operators of one of Scotland's largest decommissioned facilities over "clear safety breaches" following a chemical leak.
The Nuclear Decommissioning authority Annual Report and Accounts 2021-22 sets out the progress made towards our mission of cleaning up and decommissioning the UK's civil nuclear sites. The Annual Report and Accounts 2021-22 sets out the significant progress made towards our mission of cleaning up and decommissioning the UK's civil nuclear sites, despite another challenging year responding to changing COVID-19 restrictions.
Dounreay 2022 A Colour Brochure about Dounreay including the history has been published. It has lots of pictures and is an easy read.
Nuclear Waste Services has awarded a four-year framework contract worth up to £41 million to three suppliers for the treatment and conditioning of radioactive waste. The new service has been hailed as offering additional value to radioactive waste producers as in addition to the core elements of incineration and supercompaction routinely used to dispose of waste streams, it will also enable access to a wide range of other technologies such as encapsulation and de-tritiation.
The total number of people proceeded against in Scottish courts fell by 46% to 46,497 in the year to 2020-21, according to National Statistics published by Scotland's Chief Statistician today. The number of people convicted fell at a similar rate, down 44% to 42,532.
Three long-serving NDA group employees have been awarded honours by Her Majesty The Queen in the Platinum Jubilee Honours List for services to the nuclear industry and their local communities. Cath Giel, Communications and Stakeholder Relations Director at the LLW Repository Site in Cumbria until her retirement earlier this year, was made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE).
A celebration of innovation at Dounreay held recently, recognising how innovation is part of everything they do at the site to achieve our mission. On the day, we celebrated the many successes we have achieved in our approach to decommissioning.
Two large redundant items that were removed from Dounreay's facilities have now left the site for disposal or diversion, opening up new waste routes. Dounreay in partnership with Nuclear Waste Services and its contractor Cyclife first trialled an alternative treatment option for the site's metallic waste in 2019, when 66 tonnes of redundant metal equipment were sent to Cyclife's specialist facility for recycling.
A robot has successfully surveyed an underground radioactive ventilation duct in Dounreay's redundant laboratories. Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd (DSRL) and the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence in Nuclear (RAIN) Hub are working together to develop a robot capable of accessing areas that are inaccessible or unsafe for humans to work in.
This strategy sets out the NDA group's five-year path to becoming a leader in sustainability. Transforming nuclear legacies into sustainable opportunities is the focus of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) group's new Sustainability Strategy 2022.
Framework to reduce harm for Scottish communities. Improving safety for Scottish communities is at the heart of a new Framework for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS).
This report published on 28 March 2022 summarises the gender pay gap for the NDA group as a whole. Within the individual organisations that make up the group: Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Sellafield Limited Magnox Limited Dounreay Site Restoration Limited Low Level Waste Repository Limited Radioactive Waste Management Limited International Nuclear Services Limited Direct Rail Services Limited.
A new approach to decommissioning the Vulcan nuclear site next door to Dounreay by the Ministry of Defence has been been indicated. It was confirmed at Wednesday's meeting of Dounreay Stakeholder Group (DSG) that the Nuclear Decommissioning Agency was being considered to take over the work.
The details of particle finds on Dounreay foreshore has been updated. See full details at - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/radioactive-particles-in-the-environment-around-dounreay/dounreay-foreshore-particle-finds-2021.
Particles are fragments of irradiated nuclear fuel discharged to sea as a result of historic practices in reprocessing. Used fuel from the reactors on site and other research reactors in Britain and abroad was recycled in the site's reprocessing facilities.