Sep 27 - Daily Mail; London (UK)

SCOTLAND' S biggest nuclear plant is leaking dangerous radioactive waste, inspectors have found.

The facility at Dounreay, in Caithness, has been served with an enforcement order after it was found in breach of a catalogue of rules relating to the discharge of radioactive material.

Evidence of radioactive liquid leaking onto the foreshore around the plant was one of 28 problems found by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa).

A weeklong survey at the site in June found failures in the maintenance and repair of a system used to discharge waste.

Record keeping was also found to be suspect and further concerns were raised over the maintenance of monitoring equipment which helps to assess the environmental impact of radioactive waste.

Enforcement action has also been taken in relation to the radioactive liquid seepage onto the foreshore and the failure of sampling equipment after maintenance.

It is the first time Sepa has slapped an enforcement notice on United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority bosses at Dounreay since June 2003, when rabbits were found to be burrowing into radioactive waste pits.

Dr Guy Owen, UKAEA's head of safety and environment at Dounreay, said: 'We are working very hard to address the issues identified by Sepa and ensure that all our equipment and arrangements meet the standards expected.' Under the notice, Dounreay needs to carry out nine separate measures to remain authorised to discharge waste.

These include inspecting and maintaining all waste handling and monitoring equipment.

Dounreay must also inform Sepa of measures being taken to stop waste being dumped on the shore around the site.

A Sepa spokesman said the foreshore around Dounreay was off- limits to the public but any radioactive leak was a matter of concern and constituted a breach of the regulations.

Dounreay was Britain's centre of fast reactor research and development from 1955 until 1994. It is now being decommissioned by UKAEA on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

In June 2003, the UKAEA was ordered to take immediate action to stop rabbits getting access to areas where low level waste had been buried for up to 40 years.

Sepa feared wildlife would spread the dangerous substance around the site and beyond.

Similar fears are likely to be raised over the discovery of radioactive waste outwith the pits where it is supposed to be buried.

j.brocklebank@dailymailco.uk