Seabed area still radioactive, after Dounreay nuclear plant closed for 60 years

An area equivalent in size to 22 football pitches is being cleaned.

Dounreay: Investigation uncovers worst radiation hotspot ever Radioactive particles located during the latest search of the seabed off Dounreay. STV News, 18 November 2010 An investigation into the seabed off the Dounreay nuclear plant has uncovered the most dangerous radioactive hotspot yet found.

A remote-control vehicle deployed by diving contractors picked up a reactor fragment which measured 100 million Becquerels (Bq).

Independent experts say any particle over one million Bqs would have significant health effects.

It is by far the most radioactive object recovered off-site since the now-defunct nuclear power plant was commissioned in the late 1950s….
The discovery of the contamination on the seabed in 1997 led to a ban on fishing in waters within two kilometres of the plant.

The clean-up operation is focusing on the area near the site’s original discharge outfall where they believe a thousand or so of the dangerous particles are located.

An area equivalent in size to 22 football pitches is being cleaned. The operation started last year, when 29 were detected and removed.

This year’s work takes the total number of fragments recovered from the seabed to 1533. Ongoing monitoring of nearby beaches meanwhile has yielded 433 finds since 1983…..

Dounreay: Investigation uncovers worst radiation hotspot ever | Highlands & Islands | STV News

November 19, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, reactor