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Dounreay Archive News Index 2006
28
September 06
Retired Dounreay Workers Check Out The Changes
 
UKAEA recently invited a group of Dounreay's
retired workers back to site to see the decommissioning work taking place
at Dounreay. During their return to site Gordon Bailey, Frank Sinclair,
Sinclair Calder, Ernie Lillyman, Jonathon Kirk and Rolland Shallcross were
informed about the shaft isolation project and saw for themselves the
changes that have taken place at the shaft including the raised working
platform which was recently constructed. They also had a tour of the
Dounreay Fast Reactor to hear how DFR is being decommissioned. On leaving
site Frank Sinclair, said: "I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to site. The
tour of the shaft and DFR was excellent and very informative. From what I
remember of the site it has all altered, and certainly the sky line has
altered. Several new buildings have gone up and there are also many
buildings I remember that have now been demolished. During my visit to the
shaft at the start of the year, there was no working platform which is now
there today. There have been big changes down there.” While Sinclair
Calder, said he found his visit to the site very informative and very
worthwhile "It was nice to see some familiar faces again.”
2 May 06
NDA Directors
See Clean-up Of Fast Reactor Legacy
 The
board of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority got a close-up look at the
progress being made to decommission Britain's fast reactor legacy when it
visited Dounreay on 27 April 2006. The NDA is
responsible for the clean-up of 20 civil nuclear sites in the UK, with
Dounreay being the second largest of them. UKAEA, working with AMEC and
CH2MHILL through their recently-announced alliance, now decommissions the
site under a contract with the NDA.
11 April 06
PFR Heat Exchangers Removed As Part Of Decommissioning Process
 Five
six tonne heat exchangers have been successfully and safely lifted and
removed from the PFR reactor as part of the crucial decommissioning
programme for the Dounreay plant. During the 20 year lifetime of the
reactor the heat exchangers were used to cool the reactor roof gas. The
work, carried out for UKAEA by JGC Engineering and Technical Services Ltd
required removal of a Soft Patch on the north wall of the reactor
building. This route was last used in 1965 to install the units. The heat
exchangers have been placed in interim storage on the site
31 March 06
STRATEGY FOR CLEAN-UP OF UK’S NUCLEAR SITES APPROVED
The publication on 30 March 2006 of the Nuclear Decommissioning
Authority’s (NDA) approved Strategy sets out for the first time how the UK
will tackle the clean-up of its historic nuclear facilities including the
UKAEA site at Dounreay in Caithness, and the Magnox Electric Ltd sites,
Hunterston A in Ayrshire and Chapelcross near Dumfries.
The NDA will establish a Nuclear Skills Institute and a National Nuclear
Skills Academy. A delivery arm of the Academy will be located at
Thurso.
27 March 06
Dounreay Bulletin Online - Issue 24
Demolition of Former Reactor Workshop - Dounreay to Seek New Authorisation
from SEPA - Shaft Isolation Work Gets Underway - Dounreay's Old Boiler
House is Decommissioned - Surveyor Detects Contamination - Dounreay
Features in Radio 4 Programme - Sharing Knowledge with Kazakhstan - Tory
Party Conference Hears of New Modern Apprenticeships in Engineering - and
Decommissioning - PFR Plant Receives Commendation Following OGC Review -
Awards for Dounreay Employee - Dounreay Trainees Win Award for Voluntary
Work
21 March 06
CHALLENGING
NUCLEAR CLEAN-UP JOB
IS UNDERWAY AT DOUNREAY
 One
of the world’s most challenging nuclear clean-up jobs is underway with the
hydraulic isolation of the Dounreay shaft. This follows the decision by
Highland Council to grant planning permission to build a raised working
platform, drill up to 400 boreholes and inject grout to rocks and effluent
discharge tunnel all in the vicinity of the Dounreay shaft. This
major step in the project will allow the contents of the shaft to be
isolated from the surrounding environment by physically restricting water
movement to and from the shaft. Once complete, the grout curtain will
provide reassurance against leakage, eliminate any lingering doubts about
the shaft being a source of particles in the marine environment, and
create a stable environment for waste retrieval in the future.
7 March 06
ANOTHER
MILESTONE FOR WRACS - 30,000th Drum
 Five years after it opened, the Waste
Receipt Assay Characterisation & Supercompaction Facilty (WRACS), recently
processed its 30,000th drum of solid low-level radioactive
waste (LLW). The facility, built to the latest industry standards, takes
steel drums containing LLW arisings from site operations, x-rays them to
check their contents, and assays them for levels of radioactivity. It then
compacts the drum and loads it into secure bulk containers for interim
storage on site. WRACS processed it 20,000th drum in August
2004, shortly after re-starting operations, following the fitting of a new
compaction unit.
17 January 06
Atomic Energy Agency signs deal with private
firms to bid for nuclear clean-ups -
Guardian
Guardian Unlimited speculating about UKAEA's
chosen partners for new Alliiance - "But the
choice of the two has raised some eyebrows.
Amec has recently been the subject of
takeover speculation while CH2M Hill was at
the centre of a row in US Congress.
The American company and a partner were
awarded a $28.5m (£16m) contract to oversee
the US-led $1.7bn public works and water
construction projects in Iraq, only for
politicians to point out that some of the
firms it was monitoring were partners in
other schemes elsewhere."
16 January
06
UKAEA Goes Into An Alliance To Prepare
For Decommissioning Contracts In 2008
The United Kingdom Atomic Energy
Authority (UKAEA), AMEC plc and CH2M HILL
have formed an important new alliance to
target opportunities in the UK’s £56 billion
(£2bn a year) nuclear clean up market. The
alliance heralds the start of an open and
competitive market in UK civil nuclear
decommissioning and responds to the
government’s landmark decision to open this
market to competition. The alliance will
initially target selected sites among the
UK’s 20 civil nuclear sites which are now
being opened to competition by the Nuclear
Decommissioning Authority (NDA). Around half
of these are expected to be bid by the end
of 2008. Beyond this market, the partners
will explore further international
opportunities such as the multi-billion
pound market in Eastern Europe and the
Former Soviet Union, building on the
alliance partners’ experience in these
regions.
10 January 06
Preferred Bidder For £100 Million
Clean-up Announced
 UKAEA has announced the preferred bidder for the largest single
construction project yet during decommissioning Dounreay. Following a
European-wide competitive tendering process, UKAEA has selected the BAND
Alliance to deliver a plant to treat liquid and solid radioactive wastes
that are a legacy of reprocessing fast reactor fuel at Dounreay. The
Alliance consists of prime contractor AMEC and British Nuclear Group
Project Services Ltd, NIS Ltd, DGP International and Weir Strachan &
Henshaw.
Subject to obtaining the necessary regulatory, planning and other
consents, the new plant is expected to cost in the region of £100 million
to design and build. Its primary role will be to condition wastes arising
from the clean-out of underground tanks used to store liquids from the
historical reprocessing of fast reactor fuel. This waste accounts for
almost 80% of the radioactive waste hazard at Dounreay and its treatment
is the highest priority in the site restoration plan.
Exhibition On Radioactive Particles In The
Environment
Want To Have Your Say On Dealing With the Particles? Find Out More
and How You Can
THURSO – TOWN HALL -
Monday 9th January 2006 (10a.m. – 5p.m.)
Tuesday 10th January 2006 (1 – 8p.m.) (5 – 8p.m. BSL/English Interpreter
available)
WICK – ASSEMBLY ROOMS
Wednesday 11th January 2006 (10a.m. – 5p.m.)
Thursday 12th January 2006 (1 – 8p.m.) (5 – 8p.m. BSL/English Interpreter
available)
During 2006 UKAEA wants to consult the public on the options for dealing
with the legacy of radioactive particles in the environment. These
exhibitions are an opportunity for you to find out the work that has been
carried out to date and how you can play your part in helping us choose
the right option.
For more information see
Particles In The Marine Environment
Can't make the exhibition or meetings then fill out the
online questionnaire to make
your points by 26 January 2006.
Dounreay Particles Plan Outlined - BBC
Dounreay In Big Clean Up Drive - Scotsman 2005 Archive
News
2004 Archive
News
2003 Archive
News
2002 Archive News
Dounreay Particles Advisory Group |
Site Today
Site At Completion Of Decommissioning
Nuclear Industry News and
Links
Atomic Links On Caithness.org
Dounreay Past Present And Future
 The
importance of Dounreay to the county - its people and economy is now
extremely important. But it is the prospects of the work on
decommissioning that holds the key to the future prosperity of not just
Caithness but the wider area of the north of Scotland and beyond.
The increasing magnitude of the undertaking is beginning to be realised by
the whole country as very large contracts are being awarded. To
reflect the importance to the area Caithness.org has been granted access
to some historical photographs from the UKAEA archives for publication in
a new section. The historical pictures have been set up
in a gallery of their own and others will be added if they become
available. |