What is Dounreay?
What is Dounreay?
Dounreay was the centre of the UK fast breeder reactor research programme from 1954 until 1994. Some 180 facilities, including three reactors, chemical reprocessing plants and various waste facilities, were built on approximately 140 hectares. It is located on the north coast of Scotland. The nearest town is Thurso, Caithness.
What is a fast breeder reactor?
In the 1940s and 1950s, when uranium was scarce and the UK priority was to use it for weapons, scientists persuaded the Government they could develop a more efficient electricity-producing reactor that could breed its own fuel, plutonium. Dounreay was the test site for this technology.
Why did it close down?
By the 1980s, uranium was no longer in scarce supply and fast reactors were a more expensive way to generate electricity than other forms or production. The UK Government decided the technology would not be needed for the foreseeable future and announced an end to research in 1988.
What happens now at Dounreay?
All research and development has ceased. Dounreay is now a site of clean-up, demolition and waste management.
What does this involve?
Every facility is surveyed, its hazards identified and a plan drawn up to clean out, strip down and demolish the facility. This creates different types of industrial and radiological wastes that are sent to other facilities to be packaged for storage or disposal.
How long will this take to complete?
By 2025, all the major hazards should have have been eliminated or reduced, all the redundant facilities demolished and the wastes packaged in a form that is safe for storage or disposal.
What will be left?
The more hazardous intermediate-level waste will be stored at the site pending a decision about its final resting place. The policy of the Scottish Government for the long-term management of this material is near-site, near-surface. Ground contamination will mean parts of the site remain restricted beyond 2025.
How much will it cost?
Approximately £2.5 billion (using discounted figures).
