Notable case, Thurso, Scotland (Caithness), United Kingdom
Dounreay
Britain's fast reactor research centre, on the north coast of Scotland. Between 1963 and 1984 tens of thousands of fuel fragments escaped to the sea, and they are still being found on the seabed and beaches.
At a glance
- Status
- Remediation under way
- Activity
- 1958–1994
- Media
- soil, sediment, groundwater
- Kind of site
- nuclear
- Area. On site: 18,000 m³ of radiologically contaminated land and 28,000 m³ of chemically contaminated land (Wikipedia).
Contaminants
Radionuclides
Status
Remediation under way
Decommissioning is under way. The revised schedule foresees interim care and surveillance by 2036 and the land becoming a reusable brownfield only in 2336. Fishing has been banned within 2 km of the plant since 1997.
Story
Three reactors ran at Dounreay: the materials test reactor (1958–1969), the DFR fast reactor (1959–1977) and the PFR prototype (1974–1994). Waste was also tipped into a 65-metre-deep shaft: on 10 May 1977 seawater flooding it reacted with sodium and potassium and the explosion blew off the steel and concrete lids.
By 2011 more than 2,300 radioactive particles had been recovered from the seabed and over 480 from the beaches. In 2012 one of two million becquerels was found on Sandside beach, twice as active as any before. In 2007 the operator UKAEA pleaded guilty to illegal dumping between 1963 and 1984 and was fined £140,000.
Timeline
- 1958First reactor goes critical.
- 197710 May: explosion in the waste shaft.
- 1994The last reactor shuts down.
- 1997Fishing banned within 2 km.
- 2007UKAEA is fined for illegal dumping.
Remediation
- —particle recoverySearch for and recovery of radioactive particles from the seabed and beaches.
From the literature
Species that acted on one of this site's contaminants in at least one study. The list is automatic and takes no account of this site's soil, concentrations or climate.
Fungi
- Cladosporium sphaerospermumRadionuclides (mixed)Evidence: laboratory
- Rhodotorula taiwanensisRadionuclides (mixed)Evidence: laboratory
Sources
- Dounreay, Wikipedia, 2026
Draft compiled from public sources, not yet reviewed.