View Full Version : Moving nuclear waste from Dounreay.
I am some what surprised about the concern that this should be moved by rail.
Surely that is the best option, rather than trucking it down the road to Selafield as the A9 is not the best of roads as any one who has driven Berriedale Braes will be well aware.
Has the option of moving it by sea been considered?
Or are the opponents thinking along the lines that the waste should be contained within the county?
As for asking that the company decomissioning Dounreay should contribute to the Thurso bypass, I find that rather ridiculous as when the plant is finally closed there will no longer be "The Dounreay Rush," through the town.
orkneycadian
02-Sep-11, 23:48
Best not send it by road - Have you seen the stushie that a couple of windmill loads on the A9 can cause?
If people object, they should suggest an alternative.
orkneycadian
02-Sep-11, 23:54
What, like volunteering to have their electricity supply cut off?
You shouldn't be surprised. It's just the anti-nuclear brigade using any excuse to get heard and the sensationalist media jumping on a half story.
From what I've read the "opposition" has not really been to the rail transport (although they have made half-hearted arguments that could apply equally to road) but to the transport of waste, and to the nuclear industry in general.
I think I heard some Dundee MSP/MP type saying it should stay at Dounreay. Why his opinion should lead the news is a mystery to me.
I too wondered why the NDA were being asked to contribute to a Thurso bypass. Is it really needed now? I certainly doubt there would be any justification for it once Dounreay's gone.
Is it 'waste' or 'fuel' that is being shipped?
Is it 'waste' or 'fuel' that is being shipped?
I believe it is spent fuel.
Waste if it's left up here and not reprocessed.
Fuel if it is recycled and reused.
You shouldn't be surprised. It's just the anti-nuclear brigade using any excuse to get heard and the sensationalist media jumping on a half story.
From what I've read the "opposition" has not really been to the rail transport (although they have made half-hearted arguments that could apply equally to road) but to the transport of waste, and to the nuclear industry in general.
I think I heard some Dundee MSP/MP type saying it should stay at Dounreay. Why his opinion should lead the news is a mystery to me.
I too wondered why the NDA were being asked to contribute to a Thurso bypass. Is it really needed now? I certainly doubt there would be any justification for it once Dounreay's gone.
Did I not read that the bypass was for Scrabster traffic not Dounreay.
Plutonium Nitrate used to be shipped via sea (Scrabster to Whitehaven I think), for processing at Sellafield.
Sorry it was Workington and not Whitehaven.
orkneycadian
03-Sep-11, 08:58
Did I not read that the bypass was for Scrabster traffic not Dounreay.
Maybe better not rush into that one then! ;)
oldmarine
03-Sep-11, 21:20
Probably doing the best they know under the circumstances.
Probably doing the best they know under the circumstances.
So very true.....People think they know a lot, but there is much that is 'undetermined'.
Best not send it by road - Have you seen the stushie that a couple of windmill loads on the A9 can cause?
I doubt if they have devised a fuel flask the size of a wind turbine!
There's a short film (http://www.dounreay.com/news-room/dounreay-tv)on our website that explains where this material came from and what's happening to it. The video is called "The Breeder that Electrified Britain" and it can also be seen at You Tube.
About 30 tonnes of these metal bars went south from Dounreay in its heyday. The proposal being considered by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is to remove the 44 tonnes still remaining at the site as part of its closure.
The metal bars were made from natural uranium and arranged in the "breeder zone" of the experimental fast reactor where the radiation converted some of the material to a new fuel which could be used to power a planned network of fast reactors. None of these other reactors was built, but the fuel made inside Dounreay could be used again so the proposal is to return it to UK national stocks.
There's a section of our website that explains more about the breeder (http://www.dounreay.com/decommissioning/dounreay-fast-reactor/breeder) at Dounreay.
Some people might be interested in a meeting between the train operator DRS and local interests to explore other business opportunities arising from its proposed operations in Caithness. The meeting is reported in the latest edition of Dounreay News (http://www.dounreay.com/news/2011-09-06/dounreays-thriving-wildlife-featured-in-september-issue-of-site-newspaper). The BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-14803339) is also reporting this today.
Hope this helps.
Colin Punler
Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd
Green_not_greed
06-Sep-11, 16:42
Its the "nuclear free local authorities" that seem to be the loudest opponents here. C Punler is correct that this has all been done before. Scotsboy too is that far riskier material (in terms of potential risks to the public) used to be shipped by sea from Scrabster. Transport safety cases ensure that every shipment is safe, even in an accident. The Scottish "nuclear free local authorities" should be thinking of the bigger picture - once this fuel has left Scotland, it won't be back. Everyone in the county and country should be supporting moving this material safely out of Scotland.
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