The UK Atomic Energy Authority鈥檚 Dounreay nuclear facility on the northern coast of Scotland is to be decommissioned at an estimated cost of 拢4 billion.
The operation is due to last 60 years, but UKAEA spokesman Andy Munn, says low-level waste contamination will render some areas of the site out-of-bounds for the next 300 years.
Industry experts say that the cost of decommissioning could work out much higher than the UKAEA anticipates. 鈥淒ecommissioning is virtually an open cheque book- once you start work you鈥檙e committed and you just spend, spend, spend,鈥� says John Large, an independent nuclear consultant.
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Legal radiation levels have been pushed down significantly over recent years and further changes could increase the cost dramatically. 鈥淟imits that are acceptable now, in 50 years might be totally unacceptable,鈥� says Large. 鈥淚f the legislators bring in a new requirement, then the cost will soar.鈥�
Kevin Dunion, Director of Friends of the Earth, Scotland, says the final cost is impossible to predict since a key part of the decommissioning process has yet to be decided. UKAEA have proposed three possible solutions to treat highly radioactive plutonium-rich fuel from Dounreay鈥檚 Prototype Fast Reactor.
The fuel could be reprocessed at Dounreay, sent to Sellafield for reprocessing, or stored at Dounreay indefinitely. 鈥淚t seems unlikely that all these options will cost the same,鈥� says Dunion. The Department of Trade and Industry and yet to decide which course to take.
Both Dunion and Large are in favour of interim storage of the fuel at Dounreay, although Large cautions that as yet, no adequate storage facility exists. Reprocessing the fuel at Sellafield would also present problems as the site鈥檚 THORP reprocessing plant would have to be redesigned to handle the plutonium-rich fuel.
The UKAEA will face more prosaic problems too, says Large. 鈥淥ne of the major issues in closing down a plant, particularly in a remote locality like this, is that it鈥檚 very difficult to attract the right calibre people to work it, because what you鈥檙e doing is winding something down.鈥�
鈥淏ut unfortunately decommissioning a nuclear plant requires the highest calibre people. Without them they鈥檙e bound to have more technical difficulties,鈥� he says.