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The bluffer's guide to Dounreay's colourful past: A Brief History of Dounreay: 1954: Government announces plans for experimental reactor. 1959: Scottish Office authorises 200-ft shaft for the disposal of intermediate level waste. 1962: First fast reactor starts up. 1975: Prototype fast reactor (PFR) starts up. 1977: Explosion blows lid off waste shaft. First fast reactor shut down having been plagued by leaks. 1984: Radioactive particles found on Dounreay foreshore and public beach. 1988: A "marked excess" of childhood leukemia found near plant. End of fast breeder programme announced. 1992: EC issues formal warning for shortcomings in nuclear material accountancy. 1994: Prototype fast reactor closed. 1995: Damning report highlights UKAEA's attempts to cover up links between 1977 explosion and contamination on the foreshore. Warning given that shaft is likely to be breached by coastal erosion within 100 years. Widespread contamination found on the site. UKAEA admits discharging a highly acidic waste stream to the sea for ten years without a consent. 1996: All reprocessing work on site ceases after a leak in the dissolver of one of the plants. 1997: Radioactive particles found on public beach. NII serves improvement notices. SEPA serves prohibition notice. Scottish Secretary asks SEPA to consult for second time on new discharge consents. October: 2km fishing ban placed around plant. 1998 Jan: UKAEA fined £2,000 after workers inhale radioactive dust. NII serves three improvement notices. April: Government approves £350 million clean-up of waste from shaft and "wet-silo". Chief Constable of UKAEA resigns after expressing concern over security arrangements. May: SEPA serves enforcement notice for serious under-reporting of radioactive discharges. May 7: Contractors cut the main power cable with a JCB leaving the Fuel Cycle Area without power for 15 hours. The NII are not notified for 12 hours. All work halted pending a full investigation. June: UKAEA admits mislaying 170kg of highly enriched uranium (enough for 12 nuclear bombs) and that the shaft could contain much more uranium and plutonium than first thought. June 5: Government announces end of commercial reprocessing. June 15: NII publishes damning report into safety on site. Written in September 1997 the report was withheld because it was claimed it was "commercially confidential". August: Government admits for first time that, prior to 1973 material from Dounreay had been transferred to Aldermaston and may have been used for weapons production. September: NII issue damning report in safety at Dounreay which concluded that the operators had effectively lost control of nuclear safety. NII made 143 recommendations for improving safety 1999 May: Part of Dounreay complex evacuated after a package containing uranium waste caught fire. December: Revealed that low level waste containers from Dounreay were used to house a Santa's grotto for kids in Thurso. 2000 Mar: UKAEA fined £100,000 after three workers were found to have suffered plutonium overdoses. April: UKAEA and DTi launch consultation into what to do with the 24.7 tonnes of highly radioactive fuel and other radioactive material on site. July: Safety checks at Dounreay reveal part of the network monitoring for leaks of radioactivity was switched off. August: Another fragment of spent nuclear fuel found on sandside beach. It is the 13th such deadly particle and the 10th in the last 18 months. UKAEA invites companies to bid for Dounreay waste shaft work. The task is likely to cost between £215 million and £355 million and involve the removal of some 700 cubic metres of radioactive waste. Over 100 particles recovered from sea bed off shore from Dounreay. The current situation: There are currently 24.7 tonnes of highly radioactive fuel and other radioactive material on site. As a result of leaks and other operational and safety difficulties no reprocessing has taken place at Dounreay for almost four years and all three reprocessing facilities are currently inoperable. Over 300 radioactive particles have now been found on the sea bed, Dounreay foreshore and nearby beaches. |