Dounreay emergency – caustic liquor released but damage 'confined'
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A leak of caustic material at the Dounreay nuclear facility last night was contained and environmental impact, if any, is regarded to be minimal.
Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd (DSRL), which runs the facility, issued a statement this morning that reads: "At approximately 20:00hrs on 20 April, site emergency personnel responded to a call at the sodium storage tanks at the Prototype Fast Reactor complex.
"A planned reaction of material inside a tank resulted in an excursion, causing the release of a small amount of caustic liquor. No-one was injured and damage was confined to components in the tank. We believe the environmental impact is low. Emergency personnel kept the tank under observation as a precaution.
"SEPA and ONR have been informed of the occurrence, and DSRL today is commencing its own investigation of the circumstances."
It was previously reported that Dounreay's operators were being taken to task over several "near miss" industrial mishaps with incidents occurring between April and November last year involving crane-lifting operations. It resulted in DSRL and site contractor Graham receiving enforcement letters from the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR). The regulator had warned that the breaches of compliance will lead to stronger action if improvements are not made.
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