A revised closure plan for Dounreay has been revealed, with the site now proposed to close in 2029, rather than 2025.

The new timeframe is said to be as a result of changes in the way radioactive fuel is handled, as well as additional security.

The closure plan is said to include "significant" additional work, and this is to be factored into plans submitted to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).

The earlier programme for Dounreay's closure was announced in 2012 when the NDA awarded a new contract to Cavendish Dounreay Partnership to complete the decommissioning of the site. This contract agreed that the inventory of fuel inherited by the Authority at Dounreay would remain in long-term storage at the site. However, changes have since been made and put in place by the UK Government. After deciding to consolidate its fuel inventory at Sellafield, Dounreay was then required to draw up plans to repackage the fuel in readiness for its transportation to the Cumbria site.

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The changes, as well as additional security requirements made since the initial contract was agreed, have now been factored into the timeframe for the site's closure.

It will now close in 2029 – five years after the initial forecast.

Mark Rouse, Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL) Managing Director, is quoted as saying: "Working with the NDA, we have jointly developed an integrated programme to satisfy this national priority.

"In order to stay within our funding limit, we need to displace other work to accommodate this and that means the overall programme will take longer to complete.

"It's a challenging programme to deliver, but I'm confident we have the skills here to deliver the best site closure programme ever carried out in Europe."

(JP/MH)