SEPA releases statement after 'incident' at Dounreay

After a leak of caustic material at the Dounreay nuclear facility occurred last night, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has now issued a statement on the incident.

Dr Paul Dale, radioactive substances manager with SEPA said today: “Shortly after midnight [Thursday, April 21] SEPA was notified of an incident at the decommissioning Dounreay nuclear site at Thurso in the Scottish Highlands.

"Specialist SEPA officers were in liaison with the site operators overnight and understand that the incident occurred at a sodium storage facility associated with the Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR) building, currently being decommissioned. Further updates have been received today and we understand that there was a small release of process chemicals from the system and a release of tritium, which presents a low radiological hazard, may have occurred. DSRL continue to investigate and SEPA will be updated as further information becomes available.

“Whilst from initial information we consider the risk to the public or the environment to be extremely low, SEPA has launched a formal investigation and will provide further updates as appropriate."

The agency added that Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that is historically used in a variety of industrial processes and presents a "low radiological hazard".

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.

"A planned reaction of material inside a tank resulted in an excursion, causing the release of a small amount of caustic liquor. No-one was injured and damage was confined to components in the tank. We believe the environmental impact is low. Emergency personnel kept the tank under observation as a precaution."

Related article:

Dounreay emergency – caustic liquor released but damage 'confined'

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