The Atomics

Details how it affected a small and remote ruralcommunity, 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 1954decision, made without any community consultation or public inquiry, to centrethe country's fast reactor R&D nuclear programme at Dounreay's disusedmilitary airfield in Caithness, eight miles west of the town of Thurso, changedthe fishing and farming county forever.

Around 1,100 workers, labelledby the locals as 'Atomics', arrived from the South, and joined around 1,200locals to operate three nuclear reactors. In one fell swoop, the continualdepopulation of Caithness was reversed and Thurso's population trebled from3,200 to over 9,000 in only eight years. The recreational, economic, social andwelfare upheaval was immense, but due to good foresight and planning by theUKAEA in conjunction with local councils and officials, social integration wasviewed as successful.

In1988, the Government decided that fast reactor technology was not required andthe last reactor was shut down in 1994. The world-leading pioneering work lefta legacy of radioactively-contaminated facilities and environment. Views by anti-nuclear campaigners are alsofeatured so the book does not shy away from the controversy that surroundedDounreay 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 andNorth Sutherland have time to prepare for life after Dounreay.

As Dounreay slowly disappears from the skyline, could nuclear reactors make a dramatic comeback dueto the Government's revitalised nuclear build programme and energy securityconcerns? Whatever the future holds, enjoy the 70-year journey and discover howthe incomers became labelled as the 'Atomics'.