New study of radioactive particles flushed into sea

Dounreay is an experimental nuclear power complex dating back to the 1950s

New research is to be carried out into tiny fragments of radioactive waste flushed into the sea from a Scottish nuclear power plant 40 years ago.

Sand-sized particles of irradiated nuclear fuel got into Dounreay's drainage system in the 1960s and 1970s.

Work to clean up the particles began in the 1980s, after fragments were found washed up on the nearby foreshore.

Dounreay's operator is funding the research by the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI).

UHI's Environmental Research Institute in Thurso, near Dounreay, said the study would "explore a difficult environmental problem".

Dr Iain Darby said: "Over the years we have been involved in a great deal of research into the way that the particles behave, and we are able to make predictions about the numbers of particles in the marine environment, and where we expect them to be found.

"However, this is an extremely important area of research for the site as we must demonstrate to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency that the issue continues to be managed in an appropriate way."

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Radioactive particles have been found washed up on beaches near the nuclear site

Dounreay, an experimental nuclear power complex dating back to the 1950s, is in the process of being decommissioned.

Its operator, Dounreay Site Restoration Limited, said an important part of the work to close down the site was to "address the legacy" of the radioactive particles that wash up on nearby beaches.

Hundreds of particles have been found and removed since the 1980s, and monitoring work still continues.

Ten years ago, a remotely operated vehicle was used to recover fragments from the seabed off Dounreay.