Permission has been sought for major changes to the Dounreay nuclear power complex, including the demolition of its landmark dome structure. A planning application has been submitted to Highland Council for the dismantling of the site’s reactors. The application covers other work, including construction of new buildings to store low level radioactive waste. The waste is currently held in pits that are at risk of being exposed due to coastal erosion. Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL) has estimated that this could take from 800 to 3,000 years to happen, with the radioactive material then being washed out into the North Atlantic. The buildings to be demolished include the Dounreay Fast Reactor’s exterior superstructure, also known as the sphere and the golf ball. It is a landmark feature of the nuclear site on the Caithness coast, near Thurso. The dome, like many other structures at Dounreay, was built in the 1950s.
BBC 14th Nov 2017 read more »
IB Times 14th Nov 2017 read more »
