The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has issued an improvement notice to Nuclear Restoration Services following an incident at its Dounreay site in Caithness, Scotland.
In February 2025, during an operation to move a radiological contamination monitor, weighing approximately two tonnes, it toppled over and caused a minor injury to a worker.聽
While nobody sustained any serious injuries, ONR considers the incident carried significant potential risk to worker safety.
ONR superintending inspector Tom Eagleton said: "This was a preventable incident that could have had serious consequences for those nearby.聽 The improvement notice requires the Dounreay site to implement measures that will reduce the risk of similar occurrences in the future.
鈥淪pecifically, they must identify all operations involving the movement of heavy equipment and ensure comprehensive risk assessments and appropriate control measures are implemented before the work starts."
Nuclear Restoration Services has until 25th July 2025 to comply with the notice.
ONR has served this improvement notice under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, Regulation 3(1), which obliges employers to carry out risk assessments regarding the health and safety of their employees, and the Provision & Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER), Regulation 4 (3), which states that employers must ensure work equipment is used only for the operations and under the conditions for which it is suitable.
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