N-Base Briefing 435


N-Base Briefing 435
27th November 2004

ISSN 1478-4661

Noseblow contamination

Decommissioning work on Dounreay's pulsed column laboratory has been halted and 15 workers are undergoing special biological monitoring after a number of them revealed plutonium inhalation in routine noseblow monitoring. Five workers had contamination levels above the 'action level', five were under the action level and the other five are being monitoring as a precaution. An investigation into the incident is underway. There is particular concern because the men were not working in a controlled area and there was no warning by the site's alarm systems.

Visitors

The UKAEA and its police force were embarrassed last month when two tourists looking for the site's visitors' centre were found in their car near the fuel cycle area. They have been admitted through security gates without checks.

Police move

Officers and staff of the UKAEA Constabulary have moved into a new headquarters at Dounreay. In April the nuclear industry's police force is to be taken out of the UKAEA and become independent as the Civil Nuclear Constabulary.

Decommissioning cash

Caithness should receive a share of the GBP1 billion that has been saved from Dounreay's decommissioning budget according to the head of the local enterprise company. Mrs Carroll Buxton, chief executive of Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise, told the Highlands and Islands Convention that some of the money saved should be used to help develop the local economy.

Drigg review

The Environment Agency for England and Wales has announced a review of waste disposal authorisations for the Drigg waste site near Sellafield. The agency says it is looking to impose new management system requirements to tighten existing regulation. Details at www.environment-agency.gov.uk

Waste consultations

The Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CORWM) has started a widescale public consultation exercise which will run until next June. Meetings, workshops and stakeholder discussion groups will be asked to consider various options for dealing the UK's growing stockpile of radioactive waste. The options being considered for a 'preliminary shortlist' are continued interim storage, deep underground disposal and a phased programme of deep disposal. Fours options still not ruled out, or in, are disposal in space, sub-seabed disposal, indefinite storage and near surface disposal. Details at www.corwm.org.uk

Capenhurst review

The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate has published a review of the decommissioning strategy for Urenco's plant at Capenhurst which undertakes uranium enrichment. The review is available at www.hse.gov.uk/nsd/uclqqr.pdf

Chernobyl cancers

A major study by scientists from Sweden's Linkoping University has estimated that the Chernobyl accident in 1986 resulted in an extra 300 deaths in the country from cancer between 1988 and 1996.

New member

Mr Cliff Williams has been appointed to the board of the nuclear waste agency Nirex. Mr Williams is currently regional secretary of the union, Unison, in Yorkshire and Humberside.

Nuclear confidence

Confidence that the UK Government will have to support new nuclear power reactors was expressed at a conference organised recently by the trades union, Prospect. Among the speakers was Martin O'Neill, MP, chairman of the powerful House of Commons trade and industry select committee, who said he was sure a new government after next year's expected general election would reconsider the nuclear option.

Russian fuel

New fuel using uranium from Sellafield's Thorp reprocessing plant has been exported to Russia.

Uist range

The Ministry of Defence has said that a survey of contaminated ground at the former missile testing range on South Uist has only found 'very low' levels of radioactive contamination from colbolt-60.