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Dounreay's first 'home grown' health physics surveyors qualify

Dounreay’s first batch of home grown health physics surveyors have qualified with flying colours and ahead of schedule.

Health physics surveyors trainees display their certificates

Dounreay’s first batch of home grown health physics surveyors have qualified with flying colours and ahead of schedule.

The 7 trainees were the first to be trained by DSRL and Nuvia Ltd jointly in a programme that was due to take 2 years, but due to the hard work and commitment of both trainees and their supervisors, they completed the course in 19 months. They are now all working at Dounreay.

DSRL Health Physics Service Manager Eann Plowman said:

This is a very encouraging result for both the trainees and their instructors, and shows that hard work really pays off. The health physics surveyors now have formal qualifications that are widely recognised in the nuclear industry.

Workers involved in the Health Physics Service carry out monitoring on and off the Dounreay site, 24 hours a day, to ensure the radiological safety of the workforce, the public and the environment.

The 2020 intake of 8 DSRL health physics surveyor trainees are now working on site after completing their initial courses and exams off-site in Thurso with an external training provider. These trainees are scheduled to qualify in March 2022, while interviews for the 2021 intake of trainees is now taking place.

Dounreay is Scotland’s largest nuclear closure project and the centre of the UK’s fast reactor research and development. It is being decommissioned by Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

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Published 23 December 2020