Slight increase in radiation levels near Dounreay
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
People living near Dounreay were exposed to slightly higher levels of radiation in 2021, though they still were well within legal safety limits.
The latest figures show that the total dose from all sources was 0.026 milliSieverts (mSv), up from 0.009 mSv in 2020.
This compares with the UK national limit of 1 mSv.
According to the Radioactivity in Food in the Environment report, the increase was mostly due to an increased caesium-137 concentration in venison.
This is used to largely account for the variations in the dose over the past decade.
The report revealed that in 2021, strontium-90, caesium-137, plutonium-239 and 240 and americium-241 were detected in "a few food samples".
The far north figure in 2021 is higher than those found near Dounreay's former UKAEA nuclear research counterpart plants south of the border.
The dose for those living near Harwell in Oxfordshire was 0.005mSv and for those near Winfrith in Dorset was 0.006mSv.
Those living around the Cumbrian coast, near the Sellafield, Capenhurst and Amersham nuclear plants, were again found to be the most exposed from releases of radioactivity, with levels being up to 21 per cent of the legal limit in 2021.
The highest levels in Scotland were detected on the Dumfries and Galloway coastline. The dose, which was six per cent of the legal limit, was – as in previous years – impacted by past discharges from Sellafield.
The UK Health Security Agency estimates that naturally occurring sources, particularly radon gas, accounts for the vast majority of exposure from all sources of radioactivity.
It estimates emissions from the nuclear industry and nuclear weapons account for less than 0.2 per cent.
