Commercial reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel and waste on the Dounreay site was stopped by the UK government in 1998 although some waste is still accepted from other nuclear facilities in special circumstances. Significant accidents Sodium explosion A deep shaft at the plant was packed with radioactive waste and at least 2kg of sodium and potassium. On 10 May 1977, seawater, which flooded the shaft, reacted violently with the sodium and potassium, throwing off the massive steel and concrete lids of the shaft. This explosion littered the area with radioactive particles. Radioactive fuel swarf Tens of thousands of fragments of radioactive fuel escaped the plant between 1963 and 1984, resulting in fishing being banned within of the plant since 1997. These milled shards are thought to have washed into the sea as cooling ponds were drained. , over 2,300 radioactive particles had been recovered from the sea floor, and over 480 from the beaches. the 2km ban on harvesting seafood was still in place, but there were no other restrictions. Major power failure Following an incident in May 1998, where a mechanical digger cut through a main power cable and interrupted the site's main and back-up electricity supplies for 16 hours, operations were halted in the Fuel Cycle Area (FCA) and a safety audit of the plant was undertaken by the UK Health and Safety Executive and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. In September 1998, the highly critical report was published and made 143 recommendations for improvement. The main points of concern were: Weak management and technical base due to organisational changes Over-dependence on contractors No comprehensive strategy for waste disposal. Lack of progress with decommissioning Lack of integration of decommissioning and waste strategies Poor physical condition of plant Scope of rapid reporting was too narrow Failure to work to the standards required of a modern nuclear licensee. The final report in 2001 on the audit noted that the UKAEA had responded satisfactorily to 89 recommendations, and the remaining 54 would be responded to in the medium to long term. In November 1998, in the report Dounreay - The way ahead, the UKAEA announced a proposed timetable for accelerated decommissioning, reducing the original schedule from 100years to 60years. The cost was initially estimated at £4.3billion. An accelerated decommissioning plan was welcomed by the Friends of the Earth Scotland, but the environmental group remained opposed to further fuel reprocessing at the