Nuclear merger could see end of Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd
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Community representatives are working to ensure Dounreay workers and the far north do not lose out in the latest major organisational shake-up proposed for the site.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which now directly runs the Caithness plant, intends to merge it with its cluster of former Magnox reactors.
This would involve the Dounreay business and its staff moving over to Magnox and would signal the demise of Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd (DSRL).
The NDA maintains it will not adversely impact the workforce or the ongoing programme to clean up Dounreay.
Struan Mackie, who chairs Dounreay Stakeholder Group (DSG), said at Tuesday's meeting that he believed the changes could work in favour of the far north.
He said he and fellow members of the site's community liaison will be pressing to ensure there are no downsides.
Mr Mackie said that after the NDA took over the running of Dounreay from the Babock-led CDP in March, DSRL – the wholly owned subsidiary of the consortium – was operating on borrowed time.
"It was probably the worst kept secret in the nuclear industry that some form of merger involving Dounreay was always going to take place," said Mr Mackie.
He believed a merger with the Sellafield division of NDA, which covers the giant Cumbrian former reactor and reprocessing site, would be less preferable than one with Magnox.
He said :"Dounreay would become the big beast within the Magnox group of companies.
"It would be the largest and most complex within the group."
Mr Mackie said DSG notes that the NDA has guaranteed that DSRL workers will transition to become Magnox employees on the same terms and conditions.
He said: "We are not anticipating any major changes in how things are carried out and we'll be seeking assurances that Dounreay will continue to have a separate budget.
"We have made clear that we won't accept any sort of merger that diminishes the position of Dounreay within the NDA."
Mr Mackie said given the NDA abided by its pledges, the merger presents potential opportunities for Dounreay and its local supply chain.
Being part of the larger group, he believes, can open up new possibilities for the far north nuclear workforce to win work on decommissioning other plants, notably at Hunterston, Chapelcross and Torness in Scotland.
Mr Mackie said: "We'll continue to hold their feet to the fire but we're very keen to look into the new opportunities this could open up as well as scrutinising the governance arrangements to ensure we do not lose out."
An NDA spokesperson said: "The work to join our organisations builds on the close working that already exists, made possible by becoming part of the NDA group in April."
The spokesman said full consultation is under way on the move which is expected to take around 18 month to complete.
