£20m contract awarded for clean-up of nuclear shaft
Dounreay, near Thurso, was the UK site for the development of fast reactor research from 1955 to 1994
At a glance
Company Cavendish Nuclear has been awarded a contract to help clean-up Dounreay's shaft and silo
The shaft is a structure that plunges more than 60m below ground and was used for disposing of radioactive waste
Tackling the shaft has been described as the "world's deepest nuclear clean-up"
The silo is a concrete roofed building also used for disposing of waste
- Published
A £20m contract has been awarded as part of work to clean-up one of the most challenging features of the Dounreay nuclear power site.
Called the shaft, it plunges 65.4m (214.5ft) below ground and was used for disposing of radioactive waste.
The practice, which started in 1959, ended in 1977 following an explosion inside the structure.
Cavendish Nuclear has been awarded the contract to build a container handling facility.
Waste from the shaft, and another part of Dounreay called the silo, will be placed in 500 litre drums for storage.
Tackling the shaft has been dubbed the world's deepest nuclear clean-up by Dounreay's operators.
Construction at Dounreay in the 1950s
The silo is described as being like a swimming pool with a concrete roof.
Dounreay, near Thurso, was the UK site for the development of fast reactor research from 1955 to 1994.
The facility on the north Highland coast is in the process of being closed down, demolished and cleaned up.
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- Published9 September 2020
