The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Guards on alert for nuclear terror risk
NEW security guards are being recruited at the Dounreay atomic site amid fears that trains carrying nuclear waste to England could be targeted by terrorists.
The civilian force will free up the existing team of armed police to carry out “more robust work” – including protecting canisters of radioactive material as they make their way from the Highlands to Cumbria.
With only one line heading south from Thurso, the trains have to pass through Inverness and several other north com- munities on their 400-mile journey to Sellafield.
The six-year programme to shift 44tonnes of spent nuclear fuel south of the border for reprocessing will cost £60million.
It has been heavily criticised by campaigners – who have raised fears about the dangers of having firearms-carrying of- ficers accompany the consignments of radioactive material.
The new security team at Dounreay in Caithness will work alongside Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) officers currently based at the site.
A spokeswoman for the nuclear complex said: “The new civilian force will carry out routine security work around the site, which will free up the nuclear constabulary to carry out the more robust protection work. This will include guarding the nuclear waste.
“No one will be losing their job as part of this restructure.”
Tor Justad, from the campaign group Highland Against Nuclear Transport (Hant), has raised concerns about armed guards being stationed near nuclear material, especially on the waste transport trains.
He said: “There has been a lot of discussion for quite some time around security at Dounreay. The MoD have frequently said they are planning to allay
concerns in the local community by increasing patrols and so on, but they’ve not always done it in the most sensitive way.
“I’ve asked the question on a number of occasions, as have others involved with Hant, about armed guards on the trains and I’ve received contradictory answers.
“There is definitely the fear that accidents canhappen, whether by the presence of armed guards themselves or by criminal or terrorist activity. Any nuclear site must always be concerned about the possibility of an attack, but I am concerned about the idea of armed guards around the place.”
Independent Highland MSP John Finnie has long campaigned against nuclear power and has demanded the waste trains be halted.
He said: “I would assume they have carried out an assessment of the risks before making these changes and have decided on this.
“There is arguably a greater need than ever to secure nuclear waste and to remove the risk of anything going wrong as much as possible. I would question why this is happening now. One of the real concerns is transportation and I would like to have a clearer picture of what is happening with that.”
Recruiting is due to start soon for the new civilian guard team before it starts work in July.
The introduction of new security structure follows discussion between the UK Government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, the Office for Nuclear Regulation’s security department, the CNC and Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd (DSRL).
The CNC’s primary function is the protection of nuclear sites not used for defence, with counterterrorism among its main duties.
The new civil force, to be run by London-based Profile Security Services Ltd, will concentrate on other duties such as carrying out security checks.