Nuclear regulator monitoring Dounreay after yesterday's accident – 'the system is now stable,' it reports
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The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), the UK’s independent nuclear regulator, has just issued a statement after yesterday's incident at Dounreay in which toxic material was released and said the site owners "responded appropriately".
Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd (DSRL), which runs the facility, said that at around 8pm yesterday its emergency personnel responded to a call at the sodium storage tanks at the PFR complex.
An ONR spokesperson said: "We have been made aware of an incident at the Dounreay site yesterday evening (April 20) that resulted in site emergency personnel attending to a call at the sodium storage tanks at the Prototype Fast Reactor complex.
"We understand that a planned reaction of material inside a tank resulted in an excursion, causing the release of a small amount of caustic liquor. From the information provided by Dounreay, we can confirm there were no injuries as a result of the incident.
"ONR is content that Dounreay responded appropriately in accordance with their established arrangements and the system is now stable.
"Our inspectors are in close contact with Dounreay and will continue to monitor the situation, including Dounreay’s investigation into the incident."
The ONR says its mission is to "protect society by securing safe nuclear operations" and has a duty to ensure that the nuclear industry "controls its hazards effectively, has a culture of continuous improvement and maintains high standards".
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