Radioactive waste leak at Faslane
Nibbit | 27.04.2009 09:54 | Anti-militarism | Ecology
An MoD report released under the freedom of information act has revealed repeated leaks of nuclear waste into the Firth of Clyde over the last few years.
An MoD report released under the freedom of information act has revealed repeated leaks of nuclear waste into the Firth of Clyde over the last few years.
Last year a radioactive waste plant manager was replaced when it emerged he had no qualifications in radioactive waste management.
Another link to the Guardian i'm afraid.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/apr/27/nuclear-mod-clyde-saftey-breaches
"Britain's nuclear submarine fleet has been hit by a series of serious safety breaches involving repeated leaks of radioactive waste, broken pipes and waste tanks at its home base on the Clyde, the Ministry of Defence has disclosed.
In a confidential report released under the Freedom of Information Act, the MoD has admitted that safety failings at the UK's main nuclear submarine base at Faslane, near Glasgow, are a "recurring theme" and ingrained in the base's culture.
The worst breaches include three leaks of radioactive coolant from nuclear submarines in 2004, 2007 and 2008 into the Firth of Clyde, while last year a radioactive waste plant manager was replaced. It emerged he had no qualifications in radioactive waste management.
The repeated safety breaches, which have been revealed in documents released to Channel 4 News, are so serious that the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) has warned that it would consider closing the base down if it had the legal powers to do so.
The MoD is legally exempt from the civil radioactive safety regulations policed by Sepa but promised the agency a number of times it would voluntarily uphold those laws at the base - promises Sepa has now accused the MoD of repeatedly breaking.
The documents also suggest that Faslane will become the UK's only nuclear submarine base by 2015, the Guardian can reveal, greatly increasing the significance of the safety crisis at the base. They disclose that Devonport submarine base in Plymouth has been earmarked for closure, with three Trafalgar-class submarines due to be transferred to Faslane over the next six years, joining four Trident nuclear missile submarines and the rest of the UK's nuclear hunter killer fleet. The four oldest Trafalgar submarines will remain at Devonport until they are retired.
The catalogue of incidents at Faslane, undisclosed until today, includes:
· Leaks of radioactive coolant contaminated with tritium and cobalt from three nuclear submarines into the Firth of Clyde, involving HMS Torbay, HMS Superb and HMS Trafalgar.
· The withdrawal from service of the main waste discharge barge because it was antiquated and faulty.
· Admissions by the MoD that safety failings are "a recurring theme" at Faslane. Staff are poorly trained, staffing levels inadequate and maintenance poor.
· The discovery that two radioactive waste tanks are now a "significant" and "growing" radiation hazard because of a build-up of radioactive sludge, and need to be taken out of service.
· Defective welds in radioactive waste pipes allowed waste to leak out undetected, while inspections revealed a series of loose pipework and leaking seals.
The MoD insists th at none of the radioactive leaks have threatened human health or the environment since the radioactivity was at very low levels. "The discharges had no measurable or quantifiable environment consequences," it said.
Sepa agreed the risks appear slight but argued that in many cases, Faslane workers failed to measure the amount of effluent which leaked or detect the leaks until after the incident. After the HMS Torbay leak, Sepa privately debated making a formal protest if the problems continued.
Campbell Gemmell, Sepa's chief executive, told Channel 4 News: "It is not acceptable simply to say these incidents were minor. We need to make sure they have the systems in place to prevent any incidents happening, so that we don't have to worry whether the potential consequences are serious or not." A civil nuclear station guilty of these breaches would face temporary closure, he added.
Today's disclosures are likely to increase demands from the ruling Scottish National party government in Edinburgh for the base to be closed down, and are to be studied by an SNP-sponsored working group opposed to replacing the Trident nuclear missile fleet. Gemmell said Sepa had asked the UK government to bring Faslane under the agency's direct legal control because of its anxieties about the base's safety standards, but ministers have decided the base needs to retain crown immunity on national security grounds.
The MoD said it takes its safety duties very seriously. "The MoD is a responsible nuclear operator and immediately informed the regulatory authorities," said a spokesman. "We commissioned an independent study into the facilities and practices at HM Naval Base Clyde and an improvement plan is currently underway to ensure modern standards and best practice at the base.""
Last year a radioactive waste plant manager was replaced when it emerged he had no qualifications in radioactive waste management.
Another link to the Guardian i'm afraid.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/apr/27/nuclear-mod-clyde-saftey-breaches "Britain's nuclear submarine fleet has been hit by a series of serious safety breaches involving repeated leaks of radioactive waste, broken pipes and waste tanks at its home base on the Clyde, the Ministry of Defence has disclosed.
In a confidential report released under the Freedom of Information Act, the MoD has admitted that safety failings at the UK's main nuclear submarine base at Faslane, near Glasgow, are a "recurring theme" and ingrained in the base's culture.
The worst breaches include three leaks of radioactive coolant from nuclear submarines in 2004, 2007 and 2008 into the Firth of Clyde, while last year a radioactive waste plant manager was replaced. It emerged he had no qualifications in radioactive waste management.
The repeated safety breaches, which have been revealed in documents released to Channel 4 News, are so serious that the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) has warned that it would consider closing the base down if it had the legal powers to do so.
The MoD is legally exempt from the civil radioactive safety regulations policed by Sepa but promised the agency a number of times it would voluntarily uphold those laws at the base - promises Sepa has now accused the MoD of repeatedly breaking.
The documents also suggest that Faslane will become the UK's only nuclear submarine base by 2015, the Guardian can reveal, greatly increasing the significance of the safety crisis at the base. They disclose that Devonport submarine base in Plymouth has been earmarked for closure, with three Trafalgar-class submarines due to be transferred to Faslane over the next six years, joining four Trident nuclear missile submarines and the rest of the UK's nuclear hunter killer fleet. The four oldest Trafalgar submarines will remain at Devonport until they are retired.
The catalogue of incidents at Faslane, undisclosed until today, includes:
· Leaks of radioactive coolant contaminated with tritium and cobalt from three nuclear submarines into the Firth of Clyde, involving HMS Torbay, HMS Superb and HMS Trafalgar.
· The withdrawal from service of the main waste discharge barge because it was antiquated and faulty.
· Admissions by the MoD that safety failings are "a recurring theme" at Faslane. Staff are poorly trained, staffing levels inadequate and maintenance poor.
· The discovery that two radioactive waste tanks are now a "significant" and "growing" radiation hazard because of a build-up of radioactive sludge, and need to be taken out of service.
· Defective welds in radioactive waste pipes allowed waste to leak out undetected, while inspections revealed a series of loose pipework and leaking seals.
The MoD insists th at none of the radioactive leaks have threatened human health or the environment since the radioactivity was at very low levels. "The discharges had no measurable or quantifiable environment consequences," it said.
Sepa agreed the risks appear slight but argued that in many cases, Faslane workers failed to measure the amount of effluent which leaked or detect the leaks until after the incident. After the HMS Torbay leak, Sepa privately debated making a formal protest if the problems continued.
Campbell Gemmell, Sepa's chief executive, told Channel 4 News: "It is not acceptable simply to say these incidents were minor. We need to make sure they have the systems in place to prevent any incidents happening, so that we don't have to worry whether the potential consequences are serious or not." A civil nuclear station guilty of these breaches would face temporary closure, he added.
Today's disclosures are likely to increase demands from the ruling Scottish National party government in Edinburgh for the base to be closed down, and are to be studied by an SNP-sponsored working group opposed to replacing the Trident nuclear missile fleet. Gemmell said Sepa had asked the UK government to bring Faslane under the agency's direct legal control because of its anxieties about the base's safety standards, but ministers have decided the base needs to retain crown immunity on national security grounds.
The MoD said it takes its safety duties very seriously. "The MoD is a responsible nuclear operator and immediately informed the regulatory authorities," said a spokesman. "We commissioned an independent study into the facilities and practices at HM Naval Base Clyde and an improvement plan is currently underway to ensure modern standards and best practice at the base.""
Nibbit
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Faslane leaks, Devonport closes
27.04.2009 10:14
"If this was a nuclear power station it would have been shut down. We've had discharges that would be totally intolerable in a civil nuclear plant." John Large, consultant nuclear engineer
Other reports state that Devonport nuclear base is to be closed down instead and it's work transferred to Faslane in 2011. This is a bizarre decision given the ongoing incompetence at Faslane, even more so because the SNP government is opposed to the nuclear submarines being based in Scotland. In 2010 the SNP plan to hold an independence referendum and the MoD previously 'threatened' to close Faslane completely and move the nuclear fleet to another base, presumably Devonport.
Danny