Dounreay operators reported over radiation exposure

Published on Wednesday 25 August 2010 14:56

OPERATORS of a former nuclear power plant will be reported to prosecutors over an incident in which staff were exposed to elevated radiation doses, safety chiefs said today.

The workers at the Dounreay site in Caithness were moving a flask containing intermediate level waste when they received elevated doses of radiation, though within statutory limits.

Nine people were involved in moving the flask late last year at the plant, which is being decommissioned by Dounreay Site Restoration Limited.

The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) said it has investigated the incident and will report its findings to the Procurator Fiscal.

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

"We will report the findings of our investigation to the Procurator Fiscal."

The NII also reported on a fire at the site on May 28 this year.

Firefighters discovered a blaze inside a tented enclosure in part of the former steam-generating building in the incident.

The enclosure contained small bags of sodium residue and a redundant pipe which had earlier been removed by workers dismantling pipes. No-one was injured.

The NII said that the cause of the fire is unclear but it most likely arose from a combination of poor housekeeping coupled with poor segregation of materials.

A spokesman said: "The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate is satisfied that the licensee responded positively to the incident and has carried out a thorough investigation with appropriate actions to prevent a recurrence."

The nuclear reactor was shut in 1994 and since then work has been under way to decommission the site, with the work expected to be completed by 2025.

All nuclear fuel has been removed from the site.