N-Base Briefing 479


N-Base Briefing 479
17th December 2005
ISSN 1478-4661

Particles consultation

The UKAEA has announced a two-month consultation on what should be done about the radioactive hotspot particles found on the seabed off Dounreay and nearby beaches, in particular the Sandside beach. The consultation will run until 30th January. To date a total of 926 have been recovered from the seabed by divers and nearly 300 have been found on local beaches.

The UKAEA said two major reports on the problem will be published next year – one of the health issues concerning the particles and the other from the experts on the Dounreay Particles Advisory Group (DPAG).

In its consultation documentation the UKAEA offers nine options for dealing with the onshore problem, although it accepts that at least two of these are not feasible at present. There are 12 options for dealing with the offshore problem – five of these not feasible at present. See www.ukaea.org.uk for full details.

Red and Green Lights

Radioactive waste from new reactors in the UK could be accommodated in the type of management facilities under consideration by the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) according to its chairman Gordon MacKerron.

In an interview in the Financial Times Mr MacKerron said he did not want the committee's report, due in April, on the options available for waste management "to be used to give a green or red light to more nuclear reactors. Waste from new reactors can technically be accommodated in the new options we are considering."

Draft strategy approved

The Board of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) this week approved its proposed strategy to be submitted to the Government for approval. All the responses to the NDA's consultation on the strategy has also been published. Full details at www.nda.gov.uk

Nuclear probe

The House of Commons trade and industry select committee has announced the start of an inquiry into the work of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and the UK Atomic Energy Authority. Part of the investigation will be to assess the relevance of the authorities to "any increased reliance on nuclear power generation".

Chechen alert

Nearly 30 unprotected cobalt-60 radioactive sources have been discovered in a chemical factory in the Chechen capital Grozny.

Bankers' reward

Bankers N M Rothschild is to receive USD50 million from British Nuclear Fuels for handling the sale of its US subsidiary Westinghouse.

Russian explosion

There was an explosion this week in a smelting facility at the Sosnovyi Bor nuclear power plant west of St Petersburg. Authorities said there was no radiation involved in the accident. One worker died of his burns.

New IT system

The UKAEA has developed a new computerised system to help meet new European regulations on recording the movement of any nuclear material. The system is known as ATOM - Accountancy and Tracking of Material.