Work has started at the site of a new home for the north’s nuclear archives.
The centre will be built near Wick Airport and will house records from all civil nuclear sites in the UK.
Researchers from across the world are expected to visit the facility to pour over its documents.
The chairman of the Dounreay Stakeholder Group, David Flear, cut the first turfs for the new building, which will take about a year to construct.
Mr Flear said: “The NDA Archive brings a lasting legacy to the area, and I am delighted it is progressing so well.
“The Dounreay Stakeholder Group has been involved with the NDA on this project for some time now and everything we hoped for appears to be taking shape.”
The records include hundreds of thousands of boxes from the Sellafield and Magnox sites currently in storage, as well as many thousands of boxes from Dounreay, Harwell and nuclear sites across Britain which have been amassed over the industry’s 70 year lifespan.
The NDA’s business services director Rob Higgins said the new facility would ensure the records were managed expertly, safely and consistently into the future.
He added: “Records management, like all the other work done across our estate, is subject to regulation and scrutiny to make sure we look after all our records safely and securely and retrievable in the best possible condition. Consolidating all of our archived records in Wick will ensure best information management practices and better value for money.”
Contractor Morrison Construction is aiming to have the NDA Archive completed by the end of next year, and its doors opening to the public in 2017.
It will also provide a new home for the Caithness Archive.