Finding value in a retired nuclear reactor site
For more than 50 years Dounreay was known as the centre of the UK’s fast reactor research and development. Today, it’s Scotland’s largest decommissioning project and widely recognised as one of Europe’s most complex nuclear closure programmes.
The team leading this work has set itself the tall ambition to be recognised as a centre of excellence for nuclear decommissioning. Finding value in redundant equipment is a key part of this.
At Dounreay, nuclear and environmental safety are top priorities to ensure that no radioactive contamination or asbestos leaves the site. The site had previously disposed of some equipment through a mixture of scrap or conventional waste routes.
But for those assets clear from contamination or asbestos – anything from vehicles to tools, and fence panels to industrial ventilation fans – Dounreay needed a wider market of buyers than the local area could offer. The asset management team, headed by Michael Jones, collaborated with re-use experts Ramco to ensure that their redundant assets could have a fresh lease of life rather than be scrapped.