Dounreay improvements ordered after chemical incident

April's incident happened in a facility associated with Dounreay's Prototype Fast Reactor building

Improvements have been ordered at the Dounreay nuclear power complex following an incident in April.

A small amount of a radioactive material may have been released into the environment during a chemical reaction in a storage tank.

No-one was injured, but there was some minor damage to pipework and internal components.

The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) said it had issued Dounreay with an enforcement letter.

A spokesman said: "The process involved very low levels of radioactivity and consequently the radiological risk to workers and the public were negligible.

"There was no nuclear safety consequence."

Dounreay confirmed it had received the letter, and added that an investigation by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) was ongoing.

The incident happened during planned work at a sodium storage facility in an area associated with Dounreay's Prototype Fast Reactor building.

The nuclear complex near Thurso in Caithness is in the process of being decommissioned.