Checks continue for radioactive particles in marine environment around Dounreay
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More than three and a half decades after monitoring began in the marine environment around Dounreay, radioactive particles are still being found by specialist teams from the site.
Checks are carried out at the Dounreay foreshore and on nearby Sandside beach, and so far this year nine particles have been detected. The risk to the public on local beaches is said to be "very low".
According to the latest statistics, a total of 342 particles have been located on the Dounreay foreshore and 287 at Sandside.
Details of the discoveries are listed online by Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd (DSRL), the site licence company responsible for the clean-up and demolition of Britain’s former centre of fast reactor research and development.
Whenever a new radioactive particle is found, it is reported as part of a database on the Dounreay website which is now part of gov.uk
Nuclear fuel was reprocessed at the plant for almost 40 years. Used fuel was dismantled in ponds before chemical processing to recover material that could be reused.
This resulted in metallic fragments, some of which entered Dounreay's effluent system and were discharged to sea.
Routine monitoring of the coastline around the site began to detect particles in the early 1980s. Practices were changed to prevent further discharges.
A Dounreay spokesman said: "An important part of the work to close down Dounreay is to address the legacy of radioactive particles in the marine environment around the site. Our programme of work is agreed and regulated by Scottish Environment Protection Agency [SEPA] and funded by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
"We report on the clean-up to SEPA, the independent expert Particles Retrieval Advisory Group (Dounreay), which advises both DSRL and SEPA, and other interested parties including the site stakeholder group.
"As has been our practice for many years, we also report particle finds on our website. Current expert advice is that the risk to the public on local beaches is very low."
An important part of the work to close down Dounreay is to address the legacy of radioactive particles in the marine environment around the site.
The updated list of 342 particle finds on the Dounreay foreshore covers the period to September 8 this year, starting from November 1983. They have been located from surface level down as far as 120cm.
The highest Cs137 activity recorded during that time is 2.0E+08 Bq in November 1991. This indicates the Caesium-137 activity in the particle, measured in becquerels.
Five particles have been detected on the foreshore this year – two in January and one each in February, March and August.
Four were found on the foreshore in 2019. There were 12 in 2018 and five in 2017.
The latest figures for Sandside give details of 287 particle finds up to August 4, 2020. The first particle was recorded there in April 1984, with a 13-year gap before the next one in May 1997.
Particles have been found at Sandside at depths ranging from surface level to 35cm.
There have been four this year – one each in January and March, and two in July. There were six discoveries at Sandside in 2019, three in 2018 and 10 in 2017.
The highest Cs137 activity recorded at Sandside is 5.0E+05 Bq in February 2007.
