A COMPANY in charge of a former nuclear power plant site in Dorset has donated thousands of items of protective equipment to frontline health workers to use during the coronavirus pandemic.

Magnox Limited is responsible for the decommissioning of the Winfrith nuclear site in Winfrith Newburgh. The last operational reactor at Winfrith closed in 1995, since then the focus for the site has been on decommissioning.

The company manages and operates 12 different nuclear sites across the country and uses personal protective equipment (PPE) during its work, but has made a donation of specialised masks, suits and gloves to priority health workers across the country.

As part of its commitment to supporting the country in the response to the coronavirus pandemic, Magnox has been donating as much PPE from the Winfrith site as possible to those on the front line.

To date the site has donated more than 15,000 items to support the network of local resilience forums across the country.

These items include disposable respirators, suits and gloves and comes from both Magnox and its contractors and suppliers.

All the PPE can be spared without impacting on nuclear safety or emergency preparedness. It would ordinarily be used to support the delivery of work and projects on the Magnox sites, however much of this work has been temporarily paused while the country focuses on responding to the pandemic.

Gwen Parry-Jones, Magnox Chief Executive Officer said: “A key part of our response to COVID-19 is to help other organisations deal with the pandemic wherever we can. Clearly the need for PPE across the UK is urgent and our sites have done a fantastic job to identify PPE in Magnox stores that could safely be shared to support front line response work.

“The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has given us their full support in passing this stock to local resilience forums in the communities in which we operate, while retaining enough to deal with any emergency that might arise at our sites.

"Along with other businesses, we are keen to do all that we can to support doctors, nurses and care workers to respond safely."