Dounreay sphere to be demolished

[Logical]

Another exercise in getting his post ratings on the Org up I think.....sad

I could do with the post number actually - all part of my quest to be a 1K orger you see.

So, to keep you updated, we are now at a very impressive 126 members.

John has done a lot for this so you should all lay off a little maybe, hes just a man doing his best for a cause that he believes in. He doesnt gain anything from it.

[Sporran]

I think it's important that the Dounreay Dome is saved, and preserved as a museum and monument to British scientific vision and genius. To demolish it would be a crime, and disrespectful to the pioneering efforts of the scientists and engineers who created it, and to the dedication of those employed there over the years.

My father worked at DFR, right from the very early days, and was there when it reached criticality in 1959. I grew up with Dounreay, and eventually worked there myself (in the office building right next to the DFR Dome, at one point!). My husband and I have also taken the tour inside the iconic sphere.

I would hate to see the Dome meet its doom! It should be retained as a proud reminder of Caithness's role in the development of nuclear energy!

[TudorRose]

I think it's important that the Dounreay Dome is saved, and preserved as a museum and monument to British scientific vision and genius. To demolish it would be a crime, and disrespectful to the pioneering efforts of the scientists and engineers who created it, and to the dedication of those employed there over the years.

Well said Sporran. My sentiments exactly.

[rob murray]

Not to many posts on this one…here’s my thoughts…I was in Belfast four years ago and undertook a city tour ( bus trip ) a significant part of the tour was centered around the troubles ( ironic eh…yesterdays battlefields are today’s tourist attractions ) and the old ( derelict ) ship yards where the Titanic was built. The tour guide actually pointed out lumps of rusted metal in the distance (that’s all there was to see really) which, according to her, were the remains of cranes used in the Titanic build. Point is, that there is a significant demand for this type of tourism experience. Ie The remnants of past glories…ex ship yards, closed down mines, long gone mills…..and a de commissioned nuclear reactor !!! As has been posted, the tourism centre, as is, at UKAEA, is a big attraction and will almost certainly continue to be so…the Dome plays centre part in this tourism experience…it wouldn’t be the same if a tour guide points to a hole in the landscape and says “that’s where the Dome was” !!!
Secondly, and personally, I see the Dome as a celebration of the many thousands of locals who worked there, people who were not remotely connected with “pushing back the frontiers of science”…. nor really understood the science or what was going on. The process workers, progress chasers, storemen, checkpoint attendants, painters, joiners, scaffolders, riggers etc who saw Dounreay as a means to the job security needed to live and bring up families. Without dispute, Caithness pre 1953ish was a back water, with little job prospects, a declining population, poor economic growth prospects, marked by a fishing industry at least 50 years past its hey day, a declining agric sector and a long gone major employer ( slate quarrying ) Dounreay gave new jobs / jobs not heard of in Caithness ( process worker ? progress chaser ? ) job security and, relative to life outside “the gate”, great working conditions…hell they gave you boots, overalls, a canteen, inside toilets, wash rooms, pensions, shift work ( if applicable ) over time and prospects. (most of the jobs on offer were monotonously boring….but that’s another point !! )
Thousands worked there over the years, some short term ( a stop gap job and out before life’s responsibilities sucked you in for life ) others, really for a working life. Dounreay to me and many Caithnessians, is not about pushing back frontiers, but knowing where to get a drink on site on a Sunday morning, where to get into a card school, putting one over the “management”, how to avoid work by setting your tools on the ground and then ing off for a fly kip,all the great characters and their exploits, long week ends spent in the Viewfirth / Dounreay club….real stories about real people, that will never be told, because the history of the working class is never listened to..
The Dome...is a celebration of life!
Ps I have climbed to the top of the Dome and PFR..great crack !!

[achingale]

Not to many posts on this one…here’s my thoughts…I was in Belfast four years ago and undertook a city tour ( bus trip ) a significant part of the tour was centered around the troubles ( ironic eh…yesterdays battlefields are today’s tourist attractions ) and the old ( derelict ) ship yards where the Titanic was built. The tour guide actually pointed out lumps of rusted metal in the distance (that’s all there was to see really) which, according to her, were the remains of cranes used in the Titanic build. Point is, that there is a significant demand for this type of tourism experience. Ie The remnants of past glories…ex ship yards, closed down mines, long gone mills…..and a de commissioned nuclear reactor !!! As has been posted, the tourism centre, as is, at UKAEA, is a big attraction and will almost certainly continue to be so…the Dome plays centre part in this tourism experience…it wouldn’t be the same if a tour guide points to a hole in the landscape and says “that’s where the Dome was” !!!
Secondly, and personally, I see the Dome as a celebration of the many thousands of locals who worked there, people who were not remotely connected with “pushing back the frontiers of science”…. nor really understood the science or what was going on. The process workers, progress chasers, storemen, checkpoint attendants, painters, joiners, scaffolders, riggers etc who saw Dounreay as a means to the job security needed to live and bring up families. Without dispute, Caithness pre 1953ish was a back water, with little job prospects, a declining population, poor economic growth prospects, marked by a fishing industry at least 50 years past its hey day, a declining agric sector and a long gone major employer ( slate quarrying ) Dounreay gave new jobs / jobs not heard of in Caithness ( process worker ? progress chaser ? ) job security and, relative to life outside “the gate”, great working conditions…hell they gave you boots, overalls, a canteen, inside toilets, wash rooms, pensions, shift work ( if applicable ) over time and prospects. (most of the jobs on offer were monotonously boring….but that’s another point !! )
Thousands worked there over the years, some short term ( a stop gap job and out before life’s responsibilities sucked you in for life ) others, really for a working life. Dounreay to me and many Caithnessians, is not about pushing back frontiers, but knowing where to get a drink on site on a Sunday morning, where to get into a card school, putting one over the “management”, how to avoid work by setting your tools on the ground and then ing off for a fly kip,all the great characters and their exploits, long week ends spent in the Viewfirth / Dounreay club….real stories about real people, that will never be told, because the history of the working class is never listened to..
The Dome...is a celebration of life!
Ps I have climbed to the top of the Dome and PFR..great crack !!

Well said Rob! That is a most heartfelt plea to save the dome and perhaps it is time for the working men's stories to be told. On here would be good but then again I am just nosy

[rob murray]

Glasgow is proud of being associated with large scale ship building ... ie Clyde built...even when compared to the pre war hey day, when today there is now very little ship building on the Clyde, they still hold dear to the statement as it defines them like no other can !...In the statement Clyde built, they celebrate the role of the ordinary people who built the ships.

Who built the dome ? / who contributed in the process... ordinary working people..so the Dome should stay as a permanent memorial to their industry and efforts. They built it, not the desk bound ( however much they pushed back the frontiers of engineering science ) guys, the ordinary jocks working in all weathers and in all hours actually built it !!!

As Merl Haggard put it ............"This one's for the working man"

[rob murray]

I know that various site ativities have been spun off into self standing businesses...ISaT with CSC, UKAEA pensions, and Naver Training to name but three. Is there not a case to spin the existing tourism centre off as a business..as supported by DSLR agreeing to pay a % of the maintance costs, this could involve the Dome as well. Tourism is big business. My own personal view is that it will take years to re build a diversified economy to mitigate the dounreay jobs loss and every job created is a positive step ( even tourist related ! )

[achingale]

I saw the announcement that Sir Tam Dalyell, former Labour MP, is supporting the group on Facebook so it looks like it could be gathering momentum.

[Phill]

Yup, Sir Tam Dalyell is quoted as saying: "the decision to demolish is wrong".

Very strong support from Sir Tam, also over 300 members on Facebook now.
The website has been updated too: www.dounreaydome.org.uk

A new page added to share your thoughts or comments, if you have anything you wish to share please get in touch.

[oldmarine]

I saw the announcement that Sir Tam Dalyell, former Labour MP, is supporting the group on Facebook so it looks like it could be gathering momentum.

I don't care much for Facebook and try to stay away from it. I guess I'm too old for this stuff.

[sandyr1]

Well done my man. Facebook is just a Fad that will eventually disappear. Too much personal info on it and the Theft thereon. Not to mention the weirdos trolling for young 'Things'.
Contamination/ there appears to be some arguments over that. I see JL mentions....When the dome is 'Decontaminated', it will cost 100k to maintain...if it can ever be DE!
Steel rusts and looks unsightly/ perhaps it can be maintained for a number of years, but one day it must meet it's demise.
I am not a naysayer.....just being realistic.....am sure there are lots who disagree.
You may find that as in many other Countries, decontamination is just too expensive...some Countries sink their subs at the deepest part of the Ocean. On Sites.....They put up barbed/ razor wire and post 2/4 Security Guards on it....likely for 10 thousand + years!