The Caithness Chamber of Commerce has been reinvigorated thanks to a cash injection from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). The funding will be supporting a new Chamber which now plans to appoint a Chief Executive to lead the Chamber forward to ensure a single voice for the Caithness business community and bring individual groups together under one umbrella organisation.
Farmers disposing of spent sheep dip will save money this year, after the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) waived the second instalment of its annual groundwater licence charge. The move is one of the first tangible benefits to emerge from Scotland's Environmental and Rural Services (SEARS), a new partnership between the Scottish Government and agencies such as SEPA.
Northern Constabulary intends to increase the number of police constables in Thurso, Wick and Tain. Superintendent Ian Arnott, Divisional Commander for Northern Constabulary's North Division said: "Over the last 18 months we have undergone a structural review that has identified a number of savings which the Chief Constable has reinvested in extra officers for our communities.
News From the Dounreay Site Newspaper Click HERE for the full newspaper.
Scottish Government Minister Richard Lochhead today visited Dounreay to see for himself how waste from the shutdown and clean-up of Scotland's biggest nuclear site is being managed. Richard Lochhead is the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment.
Industries and public bodies in Scotland are being given the opportunity to comment on a new scheme to assess compliance with environmental licence conditions. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is looking to streamline its compliance assessment scheme across four regulatory regimes and is urging operators of power stations, landfills and water & sewerage supply, fish famers and chemical manufacturers to comment on its consultation, published today (7 July).
The principles and requirements for near-surface disposal facilities dealing with radioactive waste have been set down in a new guidance document being consulted on by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). As Scotland's environmental regulator, SEPA is responsible for ensuring that people and the environment are protected both now and in the future.
Study Reveals Social, Economic and Environmental Benefits Scottish furniture reuse projects helped more than 105,000 people - more than half from low income families - furnish their homes last year, according to a major new study from Scotland's national community recycling body. The study, carried out annually by The Community Recycling Network for Scotland (CRNS), revealed that as well helping people to move out of poverty, furniture reuse projects have a host of additional benefits.
UKAEA Dounreay today evolved into a site licence company, Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd. The site is also changing how it communicates with the media, public and other stakeholders.
With effect from 1 April, the UK Atomic Energy Authority has formed new subsidiaries to continue its leading role in nuclear decommissioning in the UK and overseas. A new wholly owned subsidiary, which will trade as UKAEA, formed with established expertise from the existing Business Division, will focus on nuclear decommissioning and environmental restoration management and consultancy in the UK and international markets.
BREAKTHROUGHS IN HAZARD REDUCTION AS DOUNREAY PREPARES TO BECOME SITE LICENCE COMPANY UKAEA is on course to hand over the clean-up of Dounreay to a subsidiary company on April 1 on the back of significant progress during March to reduce the major hazards at the site. The site has reported breakthroughs in all three areas where funds from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority are prioritised towards major hazard reduction.
Dounreay's Prototype Fast Reactor has now been drained of all 1500 tonnes of liquid metal that once flowed through its primary and secondary circuits. The last batch of hazardous sodium has been transferred from the base of the reactor vessel and is now being destroyed in a purpose-built chemical treatment plant that extracts the radioactivity and converts the sodium to common salt that can be discharged safely to the sea.
FIRST PHASE OF SHAFT CLEAN-UP NEARS COMPLETION The first phase of decommissioning Dounreay's waste shaft is nearing completion. A final set of boreholes in the toe section of the grout curtain and additional groundwater monitoring boreholes will see the project move a step closer towards isolation of the shaft from the groundwater.
To read the latest issue of Dounreay News - the Site Newspaper go to http://www.ukaea.org.uk/downloads/dounreay/bulletins/DNE_News_February08.pdf.
It's already been cut from 100 years to 25 years. Now, the timescale for cleaning up and knocking down Dounreay has been accelerated to just 90 seconds in a new video showing how the site will look when decommissioning is complete.
CAITHNESS FIRM WINS £7.4 MILLION CONTRACT Local engineering firm JGC Engineering & Technical Services Ltd has been awarded a major contract vital to the environment and decommissioning of the Dounreay site. Following a competitive tendering exercise UKAEA has awarded a £7.4 million contract to the company to replace the current ventilation system within the Fuel Cycle Area.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) continues to lead by example and is on track to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 20%. A series of initiatives has resulted in Scotland's environment watchdog achieving six out of its seven environmental performance targets, according to an independently validated report1 published recently.
NDA BOSS SEES FUEL PLANT BEING FLATTENED Outgoing NDA chief engineer and nuclear safety director Laurence Williams was at Dounreay to see the shell of the old fuel fabrication plant being razed to the ground. The plant, code-named D1202, was the first of the "atomic factories" built at Dounreay in the 1950s to become operational.
Over the holiday season many Scots will have a bit of a clear out, especially those who have grabbed a bargain in the sales. This inevitably means households have a number of bulky items and bags of rubbish to get rid of.
As you might imagine, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) gets a lot of queries every year. They arrive in their thousands by email, web, and phone.