Question reference: S6W-13735
- Date lodged: 10 January 2023
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Current status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 19 January 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the public was reportedly not made aware of a rise in radioactive particles found between February and March 2022 on the Dounreay foreshore until eight months later, when reports appeared in the press in November 2022.
Answer
The monitoring of the Dounreay foreshore area is undertaken by Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd (DSRL) which is a subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and is agreed and regulated by SEPA.
All radioactive particle finds are removed, analysed and reported on the DSRL website. The finds in February and March 2022 were reported on the DSRL website in March and April 2022. The Dounreay Stakeholder Group was also provided with information regarding the particle finds in a written update from SEPA at one of its subgroup meetings in April 2022.
The NDA and SEPA remain content that the monitoring and retrieval programme in place continues to provide appropriate protection for the public.