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One  of  Britain's  safest workplaces formed the backdrop today to a major  initiative  to  raise  awareness  of personal safety among children in the northern Highlands.

An  estimated 400 children from primary seven classes throughout Caithness  and  Sutherland  are  taking part in Safe Highlander, a three-day event at  Dounreay to promote important messages about their safety.

A   dozen   organisations  are  putting  on  a  variety  of  displays  and  communication  activities  in  tented village set up in the grounds of the UKAEA   visitor   centre   at   the  leading  edge  of  Britain's  nuclear decommissioning   programme.    Johnson   Controls,   UKAEA's   facilities management contractor at the site, is also providing support to the event.

Organisations  ranging  from  the  police  and  fire  service to the local alcohol  and  drugs  forum, Caithness Community Safety Action Team and the Health  and  Safety Executive are using the event to raise awareness among the young people about how to keep themselves safe on land and at sea.

Dounreay safety manager Peter Bates officially opened the three-day event, which was also attended by Councillor Alistair Macdonald, vice-convener of the Caithness area committee of the Highland Council.

Mr  Bates  said:  "UKAEA  Dounreay  has  one of the most pro-active safety communication  programmes  of  any  workplace  in  Britain,  promoting key messages  to  staff  not just about their safety at work but in their home lives  as  well.  The  choice  of  Dounreay to host an event that seeks to communicate  important  safety  messages to young people is recognition of the award-winning culture we have developed on the site.

"Contrary  to  the  impression  that  our critics seek to create, Dounreay continues  to  be  one  of  the safest places to work in the UK.  The Level Eight  rating  awarded to Dounreay in the independent International Safety Rating  System  and  successive  awards  from  the  Royal  Society for the  Prevention  of  Accidents  and  the British Safety Council are evidence of this."