News Room
For the latest stories relating to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority you can access a live news feed showing recent external news coverage.
Thursday 2 September 2010
PFR plant prepped for demolition
An inconspicuous building, hugging the north coast of the Dounreay site and nestling in the shadows of PFR, is the old active effluent treatment plant.
Wednesday 1 September 2010
NDA publishes strategy for consultation
The public body responsible for the clean-up and closure of Dounreay today publishes its draft strategy for consultation.
Tuesday 31 August 2010
Old PFR construction offices set for demolition
A demolition team has stripped out a suite of redundant offices in preparation for the bulldozers moving in.
Monday 30 August 2010
Site performance report for July now online
Dounreay's performance report for July has been published.
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Friday 27 August 2010
New site closure plan begins to take shape
Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd is updating its workforce this week about the changing shape of the site closure plan and efforts to bring new industry to the area.
Thursday 26 August 2010
Bulldozers get ready for Craig More House
A demolition team is preparing to move into Craig More House at Dounreay.
Wednesday 25 August 2010
Metal destruction rate powers ahead
One of the most important decommissioning projects at Dounreay has chalked up one of its most impressive monthly performances.
Wednesday 25 August 2010
Full museum status awarded to attraction charting Dounreay’s history
The magnificently restored Thurso Town Hall and Carnegie Library hosts a museum and community facility that captures the past brought to life through displays and interpretation and has a dedicated Dounreay room charting the history of the site dating back to the 1950’s.
Friday 6 August 2010
Dounreay clean-up moves offshore and up a gear
Dounreay’s site closure programme is moving offshore and up a gear to recover more radioactive waste from the seabed.
Friday 6 August 2010
Heritage strategy to be published next month
Britain’s first heritage strategy for a nuclear site is set to be published next month.
Thursday 5 August 2010
Shutdown plan includes help for workers and business
A new report sets out how Dounreay’s clean-up contractor is helping staff and local businesses adjust to site closure.
Wednesday 4 August 2010
Work begins to dismantle uranium line
Work is underway to dismantle the next area of a chemical plant that played a key role in the recycling of nuclear fuel at Dounreay.
Wednesday 4 August 2010
August issue of site newspaper available online
The August issue of the site newspaper, Dounreay News, has now been published and is also available online.
Friday 30 July 2010
Directors sought for £4m community fund
Members of the public are being invited to serve as board members of a new community fund from Dounreay worth £4 million.
Thursday 29 July 2010
Dounreay goes wild for biodiversity project
In International Biodiversity year, a honey of an environmental project has set Dounreay buzzing.
Tuesday 27 July 2010
Dounreay director to take on new role with Babcock International
Roger Hardy, Babcock International Group’s managing director - nuclear, has announced the future appointment of Simon Middlemas to the post of key account director NDA with Babcock International.
Monday 26 July 2010
June performance report now online
Dounreay's performance report for June has been published.
Tuesday 20 July 2010
Dounreay rubble to be recycled in site remediation
Almost a million tonnes of rubble from the demolition of Dounreay is set to be turned into hardcore and used in the remediation of the former nuclear research site.
Tuesday 20 July 2010
New DSRL Suppliers pages launched
The new DSRL Suppliers pages have gone live on the website.
Monday 19 July 2010
Bigger clean-up machine heads for Dounreay seabed
The next phase of work to remove particles from the seabed at Dounreay will get underway later this month.
Monday 12 July 2010
Dounreay hosts world-wide conference
During the spring bank holiday weekend a dedicated team of Dounreay’s decommissioning experts played host to members of the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO).
Thursday 1 July 2010
Latest issue of Dounreay News published
The July issue of the site newspaper, Dounreay News, has now been published and is also available online.
Wednesday 30 June 2010
Life at Dounreay a hard slog in war time
A recently-discovered booklet offers a glimpse of life at Dounreay’s airfield during the Second World War.
Tuesday 29 June 2010
Plutonium facility clean-up captured on film
A legacy of Dounreay’s commercial venture into nuclear reprocessing has been consigned to history.
Monday 28 June 2010
Nuclear spanners just the job for steam railway
A box of huge imperial ‘flogging’ spanners, found in the Prototype Fast Reactor's turbine hall, are starting a new life with a Highland steam railway.
Friday 25 June 2010
Dounreay Police to exercise security arrangements
The annual site counter terrorist exercise will take place at Dounreay during the evening of Wednesday, June 30. The site alert may be sounded.
Friday 25 June 2010
DFR hazard destruction ahead of schedule
Safe destruction of over 20,000 litres of the liquid metal left over from the UK’s first fast reactor experiment is a milestone several weeks ahead of schedule that the Dounreay Fast Reactor decommissioning team can be very proud of.
Friday 25 June 2010
International safety award for Dounreay
Dounreay’s continuing efforts to improve the safety of its workforce were recognised at a leading event attended by 900 guests from around the world.
Thursday 24 June 2010
Dounreay publishes May performance report
Dounreay's performance report for May has been published.
Wednesday 23 June 2010
DSRL publishes annual report and accounts
DSRL has published its annual report and accounts for the year ended March 31, 2010.
Monday 21 June 2010
Crane removal captured on film
The removal of a building crane in one of Dounreay’s redundant facilities has been captured on film.
Tuesday 15 June 2010
NDA publishes environment baseline report
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has published site specific baselines for its sites, including Dounreay, as part of its strategic environmental assessment.
Tuesday 15 June 2010
Two consortia announced in Dounreay competition
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has announced two consortia that will proceed to the next stage of competition for a parent body organisation for Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd.
Thursday 10 June 2010
New clean-up contracts will reduce cost to NDA
Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd has awarded contracts worth in excess of £12 million to three companies to provide skilled staff for the next phase of dismantling the site.
Tuesday 8 June 2010
Redundant uranium plant is broken up
A chemical plant built 20 years ago to process fuel from Germany’s high temperature reactor programme is the latest piece of Dounreay to be scrapped and turned into radioactive waste.
Monday 7 June 2010
Toxic hazard levels are dropping fast
The Dounreay plant that destroys the largest single hazard left over from the fast reactor experiment is working full throttle and has destroyed the equivalent of approximately 19,000 litre bottles of the liquid metal.
Monday 7 June 2010
Classic film gets new lease of life
A classic piece of Dounreay’s heritage from the 1950s has been given a new lease of life on the Internet.
Friday 4 June 2010
Dounreay workers could dismantle ageing rigs
The potential of tidal energy and the prospect of the world’s biggest underwater power station being built in the Pentland Firth has been in the headlines. But it’s not the only potential area of new employment for Dounreay workers that the site is supporting.
Wednesday 2 June 2010
June issue of Dounreay News online
The June issue of the site newspaper, Dounreay News, has now been published and is also available online.
Friday 28 May 2010
Fire brigade extinguishes sodium outbreak
At 0040hrs today, a fire alarm sounded inside the Prototype Fast Reactor complex. One person who was in the building at the time immediately evacuated the area.
Thursday 27 May 2010
Dounreay recycles clean waste from nuclear clean-up
A site which once recycled spent nuclear fuel is now committed to recycling the clean waste produced by its decommissioning programme.
Thursday 27 May 2010
Dounreay hosts technology trade show
Some of Britain's leading suppliers of technology to the nuclear industry are at Dounreay today for the site's annual trade exhibition.
Wednesday 26 May 2010
Dounreay hands over old fuel contracts
International Nuclear Services has taken over formal management responsibility from Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd for the site's overseas reprocessing contracts, on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
Monday 24 May 2010
April issue of performance report published
Dounreay's performance report for April has been published.
Friday 21 May 2010
New films focus on waste shaft
Two new films have been released about an underground shaft used for the disposal of intermediate level waste at Dounreay more than 30 years ago.
Thursday 20 May 2010
Dounreay safety awards windfall for local charities
Dounreay’s annual safety awards have netted a £4000 windfall for local charities and community groups.
Monday 17 May 2010
Dounreay security expert wins global award
A security expert at Dounreay has been honoured for his contribution to ways to improve the security of nuclear material around the world.
Thursday 13 May 2010
Reduction of Dounreay’s historic legacies continues
Dounreay's Prototype Fast Reactor was the second and last fast reactor to be built in the UK. It operated for twenty years until 1994 and had the dual role of providing power to the national grid and offering unique research and development facilities.
Wednesday 12 May 2010
Royal visitors - can you help?
We are carrying out research into members of the royal family who have visited the Dounreay site.
Tuesday 11 May 2010
Dounreay to host trade show for suppliers
More than 40 suppliers to the UK nuclear industry will be taking part in a trade exhibition at Dounreay on May 27.
Tuesday 11 May 2010
Dounreay to exercise emergency arrangements
An exercise to test the emergency arrangements at Dounreay takes place on the morning of Wednesday, May 12.
Friday 7 May 2010
Dounreay demolition running at 100 sq ft every day
Dounreay is being demolished at a rate of 100 sq. ft. every day, new figures reveal.
Thursday 6 May 2010
May issue of Dounreay site newspaper published
The May issue of the site newspaper, Dounreay News, has now been published and is also available online.
Tuesday 4 May 2010
Dounreay clean up company scoops international safety award
Nuclear decommissioning company Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd (DSRL) has won a prestigious international safety award from one of the world’s leading health and safety organisations for the second year running.
Tuesday 4 May 2010
Crane replacement timelapse video goes live
A DFR decommissioning team led by Mark Aitken has successfully installed a new 55 tonne crane into the breeder removal building adjacent to DFR.
Wednesday 28 April 2010
Dounreay performance report for March published
Dounreay's performance report for March has been published.
Thursday 22 April 2010
Film goes underground at Dounreay
A £500,000 project to lay a new pipeline for radioactive effluent from the decommissioning of Dounreay is the subject of a new film.
Wednesday 21 April 2010
DFR pond dismantling steps up a gear
As the decommissioning of Dounreay’s dome continues apace the legacies from the past are being stripped out of the redundant facility.
Tuesday 20 April 2010
Dounreay scientists help kids study solar system
Dounreay’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) ambassadors have been getting involved in helping school children understand the wonders of our solar system.
Thursday 8 April 2010
Sofa so good for reactor inspection
If you were probing the depths of a redundant nuclear reactor with a remotely controlled device resembling a hedgehog that toppled over when cornering, what would you do?
Thursday 8 April 2010
April issue of Dounreay News published
The latest issue of the site newspaper, Dounreay News, has now been published and is also available online.
Wednesday 7 April 2010
Workers hit the jackpot for charity
Almost 200 community projects in the north of Scotland landed a cash windfall thanks to the safety record of workers at Dounreay.
Thursday 1 April 2010
NDA sets out clean-up priorities for Dounreay
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s annual business plan, published today, sets out the key activities it expects to see carried out at Dounreay over the next 12 months.
Wednesday 31 March 2010
Tenders sought for new waste disposal site
Companies are being invited to express interest in tendering for the design and construction of a disposal facility for low-level radioactive waste from the decommissioning of Dounreay and adjacent Vulcan facility.
Wednesday 31 March 2010
Dounreay skills can harness power of the sea
Skills built up in Britain’s most successful nuclear decommissioning project can power Scotland’s new era in electricity from the sea, industrialists in Aberdeen heard today.
Tuesday 30 March 2010
National praise for Dounreay's work with schools
Dounreay has won national recognition for its work to promote engineering and science in local schools.
Monday 29 March 2010
Breeder element strip hits target
Almost 500 irradiated ‘breeder’ elements from the Dounreay Fast Reactor have been successfully de-clad by a small team of workers this year, hitting the target set for the project.
Saturday 27 March 2010
DSRL continues to reduce in size
DSRL is updating staff, trade unions and key stakeholders about the latest forecasts for continued planned reductions in its workforce as more of the site is decommissioned.
Thursday 25 March 2010
All over for the DFR stack
The original stack from the Dounreay Fast Reactor has ended its days as a pile of scrap metal.
Thursday 25 March 2010
February Performance Report published online
Dounreay's performance report for February has been published.
Tuesday 23 March 2010
More of Dounreay is flattened
Another piece of Dounreay's history has been razed to the ground.
Thursday 11 March 2010
Getting into shape for £150m programme
Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd this week updated staff and local community leaders about the shape of its decommissioning programme following January’s announcement about how much funding will be available in future.
Wednesday 10 March 2010
Heritage plan moves a step closer
A heritage strategy for one of the UK's most important nuclear sites of the 20th century has moved a step closer.
Wednesday 3 March 2010
March issue of Dounreay News published
The March issue of the site newspaper, Dounreay News, has now been published and is also available online.
Tuesday 2 March 2010
Dounreay workers achieve a year without 'lost time accident'
Dounreay’s workforce has notched up a staggering 3.76 million man hours without an industrial work-related personal injury that results in more than three days off work.
Thursday 25 February 2010
Looking inside the Dounreay prototype fast reactor
DSRL’s specialist in-house design team have designed some ingenious inventions over the years.
Monday 22 February 2010
January issue of Performance Report published
Dounreay's performance report for January 2010 has been published.
Wednesday 17 February 2010
Heritage workshop hailed a success
A heritage workshop was held in Edinburgh in January as part of Dounreay's engagement programme to gather views on its draft Heritage Strategy.
Thursday 11 February 2010
Removal of building crane important step in demolition
A building crane in one of Dounreay’s shut-down facilities became a waste package itself when a much larger crane reached in through the roof and lifted it off its rails.
Wednesday 10 February 2010
Artist gets to work on Dounreay's culture
A Scottish artist is set to bring a new perspective to the cultural heritage of Scotland's biggest nuclear site.
Friday 5 February 2010
Have your say on Dounreay's heritage
DSRL is inviting comments from staff, contractors and the general public on the proposals set out in the Heritage Strategy documents. Time is running out as the deadline for responses is 8th March, so if you want to have your say on how to retain the heritage of the Dounreay site click here.
Friday 5 February 2010
Site director announces senior management reshuffle
Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd has announced changes to its senior management team.
Thursday 4 February 2010
Coolant destruction is 4000 times cleaner than expected
Emissions from a plant built to destroy one of Britain’s biggest environmental hazards have been up to 4000 times cleaner than its designers expected.
Thursday 4 February 2010
Top apprentice Greg in national finals
One of the youngest apprentices ever recruited at Dounreay is promising to become one of its brightest sparks.
Tuesday 2 February 2010
February issue of Dounreay News published
The February issue of the site newspaper, Dounreay News, has now been published and is also available online.
Saturday 30 January 2010
Dounreay seeks variation in SEPA permit
Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd is seeking a variation to its permit from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency governing the use of cement in a waste processing plant.
Tuesday 26 January 2010
DSRL welcomes assurance on funding
Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd today welcomed an announcement by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority about funding for the site beyond 2011.
Monday 25 January 2010
December performance report available online
Dounreay's performance report for December has been published.
Friday 22 January 2010
Reactor dismantling gathers pace
Preparations for the removal and clean-out of the third giant PFR dirty dump tank are underway.
Thursday 21 January 2010
Reactor pioneers bring back the knowledge
A group of old timers have returned to Dounreay to retrace their steps after working on the construction of the prototype fast reactor over 40 years ago.
Wednesday 20 January 2010
Subsea robot dives into nuclear clean-up
A robotic arm used in underwater environments in the oil and gas industry will be helping Dounreay workers clean out radioactive cells.
Tuesday 19 January 2010
Government consults on nuclear waste policy
Decommissioning Dounreay generates a variety of different wastes that need to be managed carefully to protect the public and environment from harm. Some of this waste is radioactive.
Thursday 14 January 2010
'Daunting' clean-up project completes on time
A seven year project to clean up the dirtiest area of Dounreay’s uranium conversion plant has been successfully completed on time.
Thursday 7 January 2010
New report sets clean-up goals for 2010
A new report sets out the key tasks that the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority expects to be completed at Dounreay in the coming year.
Wednesday 6 January 2010
No let-up for holidays in hazard reduction at Dounreay
There was no let-up during Christmas and New Year in the drive to rid Dounreay of two of its most hazardous legacies.
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