AN MSP has been told the Scottish Government will have “on-going regular dialogue” with the UK Government over the transfer of nuclear material from Scotland to the US.
John Finnie of the Scottish Green Party was told about the plan after he raised concerns in parliament about Wick John O’Groats Airport.
Last year highly-enriched uranium was transferred from Dounreay, near Thurso, to the US via Wick John O’Groats Airport after a transfer deal was agreed by the UK and US governments.
The airport, 30 miles from Dounreay, is run by Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (Hial), a public corporation owned by Scottish ministers. Further flights transporting the material, in exchange for a type of uranium from the US used to diagnose cancer, are expected in the future.
In response to the Highlands and Islands MSP’s question, environment secretary Roseanna Cunningham said: “There will be on-going regular dialogue between the Scottish Government and the UK Government on the programme of movements of nuclear materials from Dounreay. The Scottish Government will continue to seek assurances on the safety and security.”
Dounreay, near Thurso, is being decommissioned and the site cleaned up. Most of the radioactive materials held there, such as fuel, are being moved by rail to other locations, including Sellafield in Cumbria, where it will be reprocessed or stored.
During the 1990s, material was sent to Dounreay for reprocessing, with customers including power plants and research centres in Australia, Germany and Belgium.
Dounreay said the priority was to comply with regulations governing “the safe and secure transportation of nuclear material”.
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