New report assesses public dose from Dounreay

November 19, 2009

A new report provides an independent assessment of the levels of radioactivity that members of the public are exposed to near Dounreay.

The report concludes that the total dose during 2008 from Dounreay and other sources, including residual fall-out from nuclear weapons tests, amounted to eight per cent of the safe limit.

Details of the assessment are contained in Radioactivity in Food and the Environment 2008, published jointly by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Food Standards Agency.

It is calculated by working out the habits of people living near Dounreay to provide a measure of their likely exposure to radioactivity measured  in foodstuffs and the environment.

“We know that reducing the hazard here at Dounreay through decommissioning brings benefits to the area. This report provides reassurance that the impact of discharges from this work on the health and wellbeing of people living nearby is negligible,” said Doug Graham, environmental team leader at Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd.

Radioactivity in the environment reports published - click here to read SEPA press release

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