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The  UK Atomic Energy Authority today delivered its annual report on safety and  the environment at Dounreay during 2002/03 to the site's local liaison committee.

Dr  Guy  Owen, UKAEA's head of safety and environment at Dounreay, said the site  continued to be one of the safest industrial workplaces in the UK but insisted there was no room for complacency.

Key points from the report include:

·  The average dose received by classified radiation workers was less than 0.1 millisievert (the statutory limit is 20 mSv and natural background radiation is 2.2 mSv).

·  The number of lost-time accidents of one day or more reduced to four for UKAEA staff and five for contractor staff.

·  The dose to the most exposed member of the public from discharges of radioactivity was very much less than 1 per cent of the authorised limit.

·  Independent audit by Det Norsk Veritas reaffirmed the site's strong safety performance at Level Eight on the International Safety Rating System.

·  Safety performance awards from the British Safety Council and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

Dr  Owen  said:  "We attach great importance to protection of the workforce and  the  environment from the radiological hazards that exist at Dounreay, and this is underlined in our performance during 2002/03.

"We  continue to strive to reduce further the few events that we do have at the  site  and we will continue to be open and honest with our stakeholders in the reporting of these events through the Dounreay Bulletin. Contrary to the  impression  our critics seek to create in response to our reporting of these  events,  today's report clearly demonstrates that Dounreay continues to  be  one  of  the  safest  places  to  work,  with minimal impact on the environment."