Environmental authorities in Scotland have said that an accidental release of radioactive dust from a nuclear site “contravened multiple” regulatory conditions, according to reports.
The contaminated dust vented out of a uranium recovery plant at Dounreay—a nuclear research center which is in the process of being decommissioned—earlier this year after a valve failed during a system test in February, the BBC reported.
This caused a “disturbance” of contaminated dust in the ventilation system and a subsequent discharge into the facility itself and the atmosphere.
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SEPA had conducted an investigation earlier this year into alleged shortcomings in the system used at Dounreay to prevent radioactive substances polluting the local environment, The Press and Journal reported. This probe resulted in site operators being issued with a “final warning letter.”
The Dounreay site—located in the far north of Scotland—was operational between 1954 and 1994. The complex comprises some 300 facilities and structures which are expected to be decommissioned entirely by the early 2030s.
However, Dounreay’s operators say that the land at the site will not be safe to use for other purposes for another 300 years due to the risks of potential radioactive contamination, the BBC reported.
Read more at RADIOACTIVE DUST ACCIDENTALLY RELEASED AT NUCLEAR SITE CONTRAVENED MULTIPLE REGULATIONS, INVESTIGATION FINDS
