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Britsh nuclear submarines at sea despite dangerous safety defects

Nuclear submarines went to sea with potentially disastrous defect. British vessels Turbulent and Tireless allowed to leave port with safety valves sealed off, risking catastrophic explosion, leaked memo reveals mo reveals Severin Carrell and Rob Edwards guardian.co.uk, Sunday 2 May 2010
Two British nuclear submarines went to sea with a potentially disastrous safety problem that left both vessels at risk of a catastrophic accident, the Guardian can reveal.
Safety valves designed to release pressure from steam generators in an emergency were completely sealed off when the nuclear hunter killers Turbulent and Tireless left port, a leaked memo discloses.
The problem went undetected on HMS Turbulent for more than two years, during which time the vessel was on operations around the Atlantic, and visited Bergen in Norway, the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, and Faslane naval base near Glasgow……..
The Ministry of Defence memo, which was written last week, admits that both cases involving the sealed-off valves were “a serious incident” that raised major questions about “weak and ambiguous” safety procedures at Devonport dockyard and within the Royal Navy.
The blocked valves, on the hull of the submarines, meant that steam from nuclear-powered boilers could not have been released in an emergency, leading to a potentially disastrous build-up of pressure.
John Large, a consultant on nuclear safety who advises governments on submarine safety, said: “It was a very significant failure. These two submarines were unfit for service. It was a perilous situation.” Nuclear submarines went to sea with potentially disastrous defect | UK news | The Guardian

May 3, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear spin, nuclear technology