BBC on Dounreay

[justine]

noticed this news article from earlier today.Apparently the BBC has an inside story on what is happening..Quite interesting reading..

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7322253.stm (http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7322253.stm)

[Phoebus_Apollo]

The Gravy Train is coming to a halt!

[Whitewater]

Interesting article. The current thinking on site appears to be to get it all finished as quickly as possible. The orignal thoughts (approx 10 - 15yrs ago) was that it would take up to 200yrs to decommission safely and properly. Currently there are many Americans employed on the site who are so called 'Experts' in decommissioning, and targets are being set at much shorter periods of time for it to become a greenfield site. Many current & retired employees don't see it being that easy. There is a lot of fuel to be disposed off, as well as some imported material which has to be returned to country of origin. With the SNP government in place, this fuel can't be transported, and even if it were, I can think of one Lady who I'm sure would be lying over the road to prevent the vehicles moving through the Highlands.

It is an interesting time at Dounreay, it will be decommissioned, and done safely, but I think it will take much longer than current thinking expects. I personally retired from the site a few years ago, I must admit that I think, I, and the rest of my generation had the best of it. From what I can gather from some of my old colleagues that have not yet reached retirement age, the site has changed dramatically, and I don't think it is now the sort of environment I would enjoy working in.

[Boozeburglar]

it will be decommissioned, and done safely

Hope you are right, but with all the different contractors involved now I feel further slip ups are inevitable. May be years before we hear about them though.

[The Oracle]

It is an interesting time at Dounreay, it will be decommissioned, and done safely, but I think it will take much longer than current thinking expects. I personally retired from the site a few years ago, I must admit that I think, I, and the rest of my generation had the best of it. From what I can gather from some of my old colleagues that have not yet reached retirement age, the site has changed dramatically, and I don't think it is now the sort of environment I would enjoy working in.

I cannot disagree with this comment. The Site has changed and is completely unrecognisable from how it was in my day or even 5 years ago.

There are those who will say it's for the better but personally I don't believe it.

Government run industry is always cited as being bad and the private sector as good. Well having seen both sides of the coin I think that's rubbish.

I don't hear many positive comments from the people I talk to these days who are still working at Dounreay. Many good people (and I'm sure a few bad one's) have left for better jobs down South.

We all hope that the Site will decommissioned safely.

As for the future, what hope for Caithness? With all this regeneration talk you think that we would be getting the best road, rail and air links, the basic infrastructure needed to attract companies to the area. But all we have had so far seems to be hot air and propaganda!

[Phoebus_Apollo]

I cannot disagree with this comment. The Site has changed and is completely unrecognisable from how it was in my day or even 5 years ago.

There are those who will say it's for the better but personally I don't believe it.

Government run industry is always cited as being bad and the private sector as good. Well having seen both sides of the coin I think that's rubbish.

I don't hear many positive comments from the people I talk to these days who are still working at Dounreay. Many good people (and I'm sure a few bad one's) have left for better jobs down South.

We all hope that the Site will decommissioned safely.

As for the future, what hope for Caithness? With all this regeneration talk you think that we would be getting the best road, rail and air links, the basic infrastructure needed to attract companies to the area. But all we have had so far seems to be hot air and propaganda!

No doubt that Dounreay has been the best thing economically to happen to Caithness but I think when all is said and done - what will it leave?

A massive green field with (potentially a white dome in the middle), a legacy of nuclear waste and not much else....and hey if there was a disaster who would care because we`re in the middle of nowhere.

[Penelope Pitstop]

The decommissioning timescale is being drawn in all the time....can't understand why ....as their appears to be very little happening on site...except knocking down buildings, etc.....that is surely the "easy" bit in decommissioing a nuclear site!!

IMO. Caithness workers/firms won't gain out of the decommissioning...but you can bet the Americans and other folk "brought in" will be doing all right out of it.:~(

[hunter]

The more money that UKARA, AMEC AND CHMHILL squeeze out the programme at Dounreay by cutting things to the bare bone, the more dosh they gather up each year in profit and send to the fat cats at HQs in England and America. The yanks love to talk about "sweating" the workforce. Why? Cos the harder they make it work, the more cash they earn, the bigger their personal bonuses and the happier their bosses. Worth someone asking what they are putting back into the community? Bet it aint anything like the millions they are taking out of it.