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Full Description
Details how it affected a small and remote rural
community, particularly the market town of Thurso, Caithness.
Concentrates on the social history, and features numerous recollections of workers and people of the local community
Published to mark the 70th anniversary of Dounreay
The UK Government's 1954
decision, made without any community consultation or public inquiry, to centre
the country's fast reactor R&D nuclear programme at Dounreay's disused
military airfield in Caithness, eight miles west of the town of Thurso, changed
the fishing and farming county forever.
Around 1,100 workers, labelled
by the locals as 'Atomics', arrived from the South, and joined around 1,200
locals to operate three nuclear reactors. In one fell swoop, the continual
depopulation of Caithness was reversed and Thurso's population trebled from
3,200 to over 9,000 in only eight years. The recreational, economic, social and
welfare upheaval was immense, but due to good foresight and planning by the
UKAEA in conjunction with local councils and officials, social integration was
viewed as successful.
In
1988, the Government decided that fast reactor technology was not required and
the last reactor was shut down in 1994. The world-leading pioneering work left
a legacy of radioactively-contaminated facilities and environment. Views by anti-nuclear campaigners are also
featured so the book does not shy away from the controversy that surrounded
Dounreay with its incidents, health scares, bad press and court fines. The challenging work programme of clean-up,
decommissioning and demolition will extend to the 2070s, and so Caithness and
North Sutherland have time to prepare for life after Dounreay.
As Dounreay slowly disappears from the skyline, could nuclear reactors make a dramatic comeback due
to the Government's revitalised nuclear build programme and energy security
concerns? Whatever the future holds, enjoy the 70-year journey and discover how
the incomers became labelled as the 'Atomics'.
