Minister raises fears over nuke clean-up
SCOTLAND’S Environment Secretary has raised fears over the clean-up of the Dounreay nuclear site.
Roseanna Cunningham has written to the UK Government after the Caithness site was given an “at risk” rating for the management of radioactive waste and a “poor” rating for the management of low level waste vaults.
The issues were highlighted in the annual report of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), alongside a “deterioration” in safety performance.
Cunningham wrote: “There continues to be cause for concern in Dounreay’s environmental performance, with the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) having to take action.
“In addition, the recently published NDA annual report presented, in stark terms, the lack of progress at Dounreay across a wide range of projects.”
Cunningham added the situation was disappointing and sits oddly with the expected loss of around 200 jobs at the site.
She added: “It is vital that there is continued momentum in the safe and effective clean-up.”
Local MSP Gail Ross said she was also concerned at the site’s environmental and safety record.
She said: “I’m very concerned the redundancy policy is still being pursued, despite this report stating that the site is struggling with maintaining safety and performance.”