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| Fire at Dounreay led to release of radioactivity | Fire at Dounreay led to release of radioactivity |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A fire in part of Dounreay's Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR) facility last month led to an "unauthorised release" of radioactivity into the environment. | |
| Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL) said "procedural non-compliances and behavioural practices" by staff led to the incident on 7 October. | |
| DSRL said trace amounts of tritium were released and did not pose a risk to the public. | |
| No-one at the plant was hurt in the early morning incident. | |
| The Caithness site's fire brigade extinguished the blaze in the PFR's sodium tank farm within 30 minutes. | The Caithness site's fire brigade extinguished the blaze in the PFR's sodium tank farm within 30 minutes. |
| Managing director Mark Rouse said DSRL has been served with an improvement notice by the nuclear industry's regulators. | Managing director Mark Rouse said DSRL has been served with an improvement notice by the nuclear industry's regulators. |
| He said: "Our investigation identified unacceptable behaviours and practices that fell well short of our values and standards. | He said: "Our investigation identified unacceptable behaviours and practices that fell well short of our values and standards. |
| "It is important to take the time to ensure as many lessons are learned from this incident as possible. | "It is important to take the time to ensure as many lessons are learned from this incident as possible. |
| "We are determined to improve our behaviours and compliance to ensure that we always meet the high standards expected on a nuclear site." | "We are determined to improve our behaviours and compliance to ensure that we always meet the high standards expected on a nuclear site." |
| The reactor ceased operating in 1994 and is more than halfway through a process of being decommissioned. | The reactor ceased operating in 1994 and is more than halfway through a process of being decommissioned. |
| More than 1,500 tonnes of sodium, a material used when the reactor was in operation, has been safely destroyed so far. | More than 1,500 tonnes of sodium, a material used when the reactor was in operation, has been safely destroyed so far. |
| The fire occurred in a building where tanks are used to store sodium. | The fire occurred in a building where tanks are used to store sodium. |
| The incident happened on the same day a blaze broke out on a ship transporting radioactive waste from Dounreay to Belgium. | |
| The blaze started in one of the MV Parida's two funnels on the night of 7 October. | |
| It lost power and started drifting towards an oil platform in the Moray Firth. Fifty-two people on the rig were evacuated as a precaution. | |
| Following repairs the ship was able to resume its journey. |