Dounreay firm may be charged after nine faced radiation scare

Published on Wednesday 25 August 2010 14:49

THE operators of the Dounreay nuclear complex could face prosecution after a group of workers were affected by radiation.

• Dounreay nuclear complex, where the workers were affected by radiation Picture: Ian Rutherford

The nine staff were moving a flask containing intermediate-level waste to storage when they were exposed to higher than expected doses of radiation, although these were still within statutory limits.

The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII), which is part of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), investigated the "unplanned exposure" incident and has sent a report to the procurator-fiscal.

An NII report said: "We undertook an investigation into the incident to seek to establish the cause, consider future preventative measures and identify any regulatory breaches."

An industry source said: "This was a fairly routine exercise. The workers had obviously planned the movement of the material and what the radiation doses to the workers would be.

"Afterwards, when monitoring was done, the levels of radiation were supposedly seen to be higher than planned for and therefore the dose received by the workers higher than planned.

"It was still well within the limits, but the question for the HSE now is whether there has been a breach of the law."

A Dounreay spokesman said: "We are aware that the NII has submitted a report, and cannot say much more at this stage. Generally, we learn lessons for all events involving safety at the site and will implement recommendations from them to reduce the risk of repeat occurrences."

The NII has also highlighted a fire at the Dounreay site in May. It involved bags of sodium residue that had earlier been removed from pipework during work to decommission the nuclear complex.

No-one was hurt and Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL) said no workers received radiation doses.

The NII said: "NII carried out an initial investigation in June. The cause of the fire is unclear, but it most likely arose from a combination of poor housekeeping, coupled with poor segregation of materials.

"The extent of the fire was minimised by the detection systems in place and the prompt actions of the site fire brigade.

"NII is satisfied that the licensee responded positively to the incident and has carried out a thorough investigation with appropriate actions to prevent a recurrence."

Dounreay operators have been fined for a number of safety breaches in recent years.

In February 2007, the UK Atomic Energy Authority, which then had responsibility for decommissioning, was fined 140,000 for allowing radioactive fuel fragments to enter the environment and illegally dumping radioactive waste at a landfill on the site.

UKAEA pled guilty to four offences under the Radioactive Substances Act 1960 that happened over more than 20 years.

In July 2007, UKAEA was fined 15,000 for a safety lapse which led to a worker breathing in potentially deadly plutonium. Two employees were exposed to the material as they disposed of contaminated bricks and one received a plutonium intake which will remain in his system for life. The bricks were not marked radioactive and had not been stored in special drums.