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Documents reveal poor safety history of Britain’s nuclear arsenal

A Freedom of Information request has revealed that the Defence Environment and Safety Board believes budget cuts will make it “increasingly difficult to maintain that the defence nuclear programmes are being managed with due regard for the protection of the workforce, the public and the environment.

Nuclear arsenals under scrutiny for safety lapses, fires and floodGroup calls for planners to think twice about a major new facility at Trident warhead base at Aldermaston in Berkshire Jamie Doward * The Observer, Sunday 22 August 2010

Health and safety practices at the UK’s main nuclear weapons base are under intense scrutiny just weeks before it is expected to be granted permission for a multibillion-pound facility to conduct a new generation of radioactive tests.

The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) at Aldermaston in Berkshire is where the UK’s arsenal of nuclear warheads is manufactured and maintained for the Trident submarine fleet. A serious fire in the base’s explosives area last month, which resulted in local residents having to be evacuated and left one member of staff injured, has focused attention on AWE’s safety record at a critical time…..

An analysis of monthly health and safety records, published by AWE, has prompted the NIS to call for planners to think twice before approving Project Hydrus, a major new research facility that will turn Aldermaston into a global leader in the production of thermonuclear weapons.

The documents show that:

■ Last month’s fire was one of several over the last five years. …….

■ From April to June 2008, there was a risk of staff being exposed to the toxic metal beryllium, which can cause acute respiratory conditions and tumours.

■ In February 2008, radioactive material taken to London to help the Metropolitan police’s “radiological awareness training” was left in the capital overnight.

In July 2007, flooding at Aldermaston’s sister plant, AWE Burghfield, “came close to overwhelming” buildings where nuclear warheads were assembled,…..

Poor record keeping also made tracking radioactive material and components problematic………..A Freedom of Information request has revealed that the Defence Environment and Safety Board believes budget cuts will make it “increasingly difficult to maintain that the defence nuclear programmes are being managed with due regard for the protection of the workforce, the public and the environment. The key areas of concern for the medium term are the sufficiency of resources, both money and staff complement, and the maintenance of a suitable cadre of suitably competent staff.” Nuclear arsenals under scrutiny for safety lapses, fires and flood | UK news | The Observer

August 23, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, UK | antinuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive