New Dounreay boss says there are ‘challenges ahead’
Dounreay’s new supremo is looking to get the site on an even keel after it has had to negotiate some choppy waters in recent years.
Dave Wilson, who took over as the NRS site managing director on November 18, said he is looking forward to continuing the work to decommission the redundant experimental nuclear power plant.
Speaking at Wednesday evening’s meeting of Dounreay Stakeholder Group, he said “It’s a really, really exciting site and I’m proud to be part of the leadership at Dounreay.
“There will be some challenging times ahead but we’ve got a great team and I can feel the support from the community already.”
Mr Wilson said it is starting to meet some of tits previous targets, which had slipped during the pandemic.
He said it is also recovering from the impact of the industrial action at the site in May and June.
“We took a hit on progress because of that,” he said.
Mr Wilson has taken over shortly after nuclear industry inspectors put Dounreay into “special measures” as a result of unresolved safety concerns about the Caithness plant.
It is implementing an action plan in response to concerns raised about ageing, deteriorating plant, radioactive leaks and the storage of chemicals on the site.
He said: “We’re still on Enhanced Regulatory Attention and dialogue is open and ongoing with the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and SEPA (the Scottish Environment Protection Agency).
“We’re working through all that and there is an ONR inspector on site this week.”
Mr Wilson joined the nuclear industry as a graduate at Sellafield and went on to have spells at the Chapelcross and Trawsfynydd sites. Before moving to the far north, he was market director and delivery lead for nuclear decommissioning and waste services at AtkinsRealis.
