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Britain’s nuclear weapons factory ‘nearly overwhelmed’ by flood – Telegraph

Britain’s nuclear weapons factory ‘nearly overwhelmed’ by flood
Telegraph.co.uk 12 Oct 08 Alarm systems at Britain’s nuclear weapons factory were put out of action for 10 days by last summer’s floods, leaving tens of thousands of people without warning in the event of a nuclear accident.

The floods disabled key radiation alarm systems, designed to detect an impending nuclear accident at the Atomic Weapons Establishment site at Burghfield, in Berkshire, according to secret documents seen by Channel 4 News.

Parts of the factory came “within 2 to 3 hours” of being overwhelmed by the floods – which could have led to the release of potentially radioactive contaminated water.

A nuclear incident at Burghfield could result in the release of a radioactive cloud that would require the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from the surrounding area, including the nearby large conurbation of Reading.

Burghfield is where Britain’s Trident nuclear warheads are dismantled and reassembled for maintenance. According to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act nearly all the buildings in the key nuclear Assembly Area were inundated by floodwater on July 20th last year when torrential rain caused chaos across much of southern England.

As a result of the flooding, all live nuclear work on warheads was stopped for nine months. Yet defence ministers told MPs there had been only “minor disruption”…………………………… Details of the extent of the flooding were deliberately kept from the public and local authorities. Anxious to protect the company’s reputation, the documents note approvingly that “it was a prudent step to limit disclosure of information surrounding the degree of impact suffered – particularly at Burghfield.”

Britain’s nuclear weapons factory ‘nearly overwhelmed’ by flood – Telegraph

October 13, 2008 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety