A grain-sized fragment of reprocessed nuclear fuel was found washed ashore on the beach on Monday afternoon.

The discovery adds to the knowledge about where the pool of hundreds of thousands of radioactive particles released in rogue historic discharges from the nuclear plant have ended up.

The site contractor UKAEA has no plans to erect public warning signs at the beach. Any such move would be initiated by the off-site pollution watchdog, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

Monday's particle was unearthed during a radiation scan at Murkle by site-based contractor Nukem Ltd using special tracked detection vehicles.

Murkle was first checked last year following the shock discovery of a particle at Dunnet beach in March 2005. That sweep proved clear.

The particle was picked up and returned to the site for analysis.

A spokeswoman for the UKAEA said the particle had been measured as having 13,000 becquerels of activity – towards the bottom of the range of those that have been found at Sandside beach, near Reay.

The discovery, towards the east side of the beach, has been reported to SEPA.

The UKAEA is in the midst of a multi-million-pound drive to find out how best to deal with the off-site pollution.

Hundreds of particles have been found on the enclosed foreshore immediately off Dounreay and in the surrounding seabed.

More than 90, including 17 this year, have been removed from Sandside.

Up until Monday, the only particle found on a beach to the east of the site was the one at Dunnet.

The independent Dounreay Particles Advisory Group in November last year recommended annual scans of the beaches in the Dunnet Bay area.

Local farmer James Anderson, who sits on the Dounreay Stakeholder Group, described the find as regrettable.

He said: "One would think that the farther you are from Dounreay, particles would be less likely to occur.

"The UKAEA has a responsibility to try and keep the beaches clean, and it is looking at different options to clean up the seabed.

"You can't argue with that, but they could spend billions of pounds and still not stop the particles coming ashore. In some ways, you wonder whether it is not best just to let nature take its course."

Mr Anderson, of Broynach, Claredon, believes the latest find should accelerate efforts on the part of the UKAEA and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to help business and tourism developments to counter the damage caused to the Far North's image by the ongoing pollution.

iain-grant@ukf.net

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