A government body has been warned to improve its safety after a worker was injured by a two-tonne monitor at Scotland’s largest nuclear clean-up and demolition project.
Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS), which is responsible for decommissioning nuclear sites, has been served with an improvement notice by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) following the incident at the Dounreay site in Caithness.
NRS said it was taking action to “strengthen” its practices following the notice.
The incident happened during an operation to move a two-tonne radiological contamination monitor in February this year, the ONR said.
The monitor toppled over, causing a “minor injury” to a worker, the regulator said.
The ONR said the incident “carried significant potential risk to worker safety”, despite no serious injuries being sustained.
ONR superintending inspector Tom Eagleton said: “This was a preventable incident that could have had serious consequences for those nearby.
“The improvement notice requires the Dounreay site to implement measures that will reduce the risk of similar occurrences in the future.
“Specifically, they must identify all operations involving the movement of heavy equipment and ensure comprehensive risk assessments and appropriate control measures are implemented before the work starts.”
Dounreay was the UK’s centre of fast reactor research and development and operated for nearly 40 years until 1994. It is considered one of the UK’s key nuclear decommissioning sites.
According to the ONR’s website, the “experimental nature of many of its redundant facilities means the clean-up and demolition requires innovative approaches as well as great care”.
In a statement, NRS said: “We take the protection of people and the environment from harm very seriously.
“We are taking action to strengthen our practices and management in this area, and will comply with the requirements of the notice received in April, having reported the incident to ONR and carried out an investigation.”
NRS has until 25 July 2025 to comply with the notice.
ONR served the improvement notice under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, Regulation 3(1) and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, Regulation 4 (3).
NRS, which is a subsidiary of government agency the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, has been contacted for comment.