Fuel Cycle Area

The Fuel Cycle Area (FCA) is the high security area within the licensed site, housing the facilities that historically handled and stored the site’s nuclear material and waste. Most of the buildings were built during the early construction phase of the site (1955-1959).

The fast reactor fuel cycle took place in the buildings which were linked together by a common corridor. These facilities were used for the manufacture of fuel elements, post-irradiation examination of irradiated fuel, fuel reprocessing, waste holding and treatment, and analytical services and research in laboratories.

The facilities are being systematically decommissioned. This involves the initial post-operational clean-out, decontamination and dismantling of the facilities followed by final demolition and environmental restoration.

Some of the facilities continue to operate, holding, managing and processing historical wastes. New facilities have been built to process historical wastes and to manage wastes arising from the decommissioning of the site. These include the Cementation plant and the Waste Supercompaction plant. These in turn will be decommissioned and demolished once their job is complete.

The decommissioning work is managed by DSRL and carried out by a flexible skilled team comprising of DSRL  and contractors' decomissioning operatives.  Specialist contractors are used for activities such as asbestos removal and non-nuclear demolition.

Decommissioning successes to date include:

Complete decommissioning and demolition of:
  • Fuel fabrication plant
  • Plutonium criticality research facility
  • HEU waste store
  • Analytical laboratories and cells
  • Uranium criticality research facility
  • Active workshops
  • Inactive laundry
  • Sodium experimental facility
  • Silo cover building
  • 25 inactive infrastructure facilities
Partial decommissioning of:
  • Nuclear fuel reprocessing plants
  • Nuclear fuel ponds
  • Nuclear fuel PIE facilities
  • Pulsed column laboratory
  • Uranium recovery plant
  • Low level waste handling facility
  • Redundant remote handled intermediate level waste store
  • Analytical laboratories and cells
  • Dounreay Materials Test Reactor
  • Redundant ventilation plant

FCA Fact sheet

See our News Room to read the latest news stories.

See Dounreay TV to view the latest film footage.

 

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Image: Solid intermediate-level waste from decommissioned is sorted remotely inside shielded cells, before it is transferred loose in drums to stores

Solid intermediate-level waste from decommissioning is sorted remotely inside shielded cells, before it is transferred loose in drums to stores

Image:

Empty drums are checked before they move inside the shielded cell for filling

Image: The steel lining of the plutonium criticality cell is cut up by hand

The steel lining of the plutonium criticality cell is cut up by hand

Image: Demolition of the fuel fabrication plant

Demolition of the fuel fabrication plant

Image: Workers in protective suits dismantle a glovebox in one of the analytical laboratories

Workers in protective suits dismantle a glovebox in one of the analytical laboratories

Image: Demolishing a wall in the plutonium criticality research facility

Demolishing a wall in the plutonium criticality research facility

Image: A worker using remote manipulators

A worker using remote manipulators