The company that is decommissioning Hunterston A power station has donated thousands of pieces of personal protective equipment to frontline staff fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

Magnox Ltd, who are also decommissioning the Chapelcross nuclear power station near Annan, have given more than 1,200 items of PPE thus far.

Items donated include disposable respirators, suits, and gloves from Magnox and their contractors and suppliers.

Magnox said that they are committed to playing their part to support the country in the response to the ongoing COVID-19 threat.

They said: “That’s why we have been donating as much personal protective equipment from the Chapelcross and Hunterston A sites as possible to those on the front line.

“To date, the two Magnox sites in Scotland have donated more than 1,200 items, to support priorities established by the network of local resilience forums across the country.

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

All the PPE can be spared without impacting on nuclear safety or emergency preparedness with Magnox saying it is equipment that is ordinarily 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.”

The UK government has faced increasing pressure with regards to the supply of PPE. They’ve recently faced criticism for not taking part in an EU plan to buy bulk medical equipment.

In the meantime businesses and individuals have stepped in to plug the gap.

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