The archives are housed on former Royal Air Force land adjacent to Wick Airport in Caithness, North-East Scotland.

[2][3] The site was chosen from a shortlist of four areas selected by the NDA as being affected by the decommissioning of nuclear power stations.

More than 2,000 people in the local area are working to decommission the former nuclear facilities at Dounreay in a project set to complete in 2030.

The establishment of the archives will create 25 permanent jobs in the area, the majority of which can be filled by members of the local community.

[2] The archive was supplemented by the transfer of a collection of 1950s era nuclear-related journals from the library of the North Highland College.