nuclear-news

Safety lapses at UK’s Trident nuclear weapons facility

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.

Nuclear arsenals under scrutiny for safety lapses, fires and flood Group 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…….

Nuclear arsenals under scrutiny for safety lapses, fires and flood | UK news | The Observer

August 31, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, Trident