The plant, operated by an engineering company, was evacuated after it started to fill with smoke when a batch of non-radioactive sodium reacted with air.

There were no reports of casualties following the incident which was reported shortly after 11am.

Fire, ambulance and police crews were called and entry was restricted to Janetstown Industrial Estate for the remainder of the day.

The 27-metre high plant is owned by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and leased to t3uk, which is owned by Harpsdale-based JGC Engineering and Technical Services.

JGC and BNS Nuclear Services are working on a contract to dispose of Dounreay’s stockpile of non-radioactive solid sodium.

It is believed staff are currently deployed destroying four tonnes of German sodium, which is a legacy of the site’s nuclear reprocessing trade.

The mishap is understood to have occurred as a container of the highly reactive substance, which is held in an argon atmosphere, somehow got in to contact with air as it was being shifted between two vessels.

This caused smoke to trigger the fire alarms.

After staff were evacuated, local firefighters using breathing apparatus tackled the incident.

No-one from JGC or BNS was yesterday available for comment as the John O’Groat Journal went to press.

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