Dounreay Bosses Slammed For Safety Failure
The Office for Nuclear Regulation is serving site bosses with an improvement order after a fire caused a radioactive leak in October.
Bosses at Dounreay are being slammed for not raising standards at the site after a radioactive leak.
An improvement notice has been served by the Office for Nuclear Regulation following a fire in October.
The watchdog wants operators to review control, monitoring and planning procedures to ensure safety at the facility.
The blaze broke out in the sodium storage area of the Prototype Fast Reactor on October 7th.
No personnel were injured, but SEPA confirmed there had been a release of radioactivity.
It's the latest in a series of similar incidents and the ONR has been working with operators to make improvements.
However, this latest incident has sparked criticism from the regulator.
ONR Deputy Chief Inspector Richard Savage explained:
“The incident revealed several concerns, notably a poor compliance culture and unacceptable behaviours of personnel on site.
"We are looking for evidence of improvements to effective planning; control and monitoring that will prevent future incidents occurring, and protect the public during the decommissioning of the plant.”
Managing Director of DSRL, Mark Rouse, said: “We have accepted the Improvement Notice and will co-operate fully with the regulators.
“Our investigation identified unacceptable behaviours and practices that fell well short of our values and standards. It is important to take the time to ensure as many lessons are learned from this incident as possible.
“We are determined to improve our behaviours and compliance to ensure that we always meet the high standards expected on a nuclear site.”