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| doodells |
Nuclear sub 'discharge' warningNuclear sub 'discharge' warningSubmarine at Faslane base The Clyde Naval base is home to a fleet of nuclear submarines The naval base at Faslane has suffered a series of safety breaches including radioactive leaks from nuclear-powered submarines, it has been revealed. A report, issued under the Freedom of Information Act, showed the Ministry of Defence, (MoD) describing the failings as a "recurring theme". On three occasions radioactive coolant leaked from nuclear submarines. Scotland's environment watchdog, Sepa, said it would have considered closing the base if it had had the power. Formal legal action could not be taken because military bases are exempt from the law governing nuclear sites. Formal letter The documents also showed the Navy did not know how much radioactivity was discharged. HM Naval Base Clyde, at Faslane, is home to Britain's fleet of submarines armed with Trident nuclear missiles. It is also the base for a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines armed with conventional weapons. Three times, in 2004, 2007 and 2008, radioactive coolant leaked from nuclear submarines into the Firth of Clyde. An improvement plan is currently under way to ensure modern standards and best practice at the base MoD statement In August 2007, the nuclear-powered submarine HMS Superb discharged water, potentially contaminated with radioactive Tritium and Cobalt-60, directly into Gare Loch. Sepa's response was a formal letter to Faslane expressing its concern. It noted that it had not been told about the incident for six days. In February 2008, it happened again. This time HMS Torbay was warming up its reactor when a tank overflowed. Sepa issued another letter in the form of an enforcement notice. The environment watchdog said the radiological consequences were minor. But it was concerned proper procedures had not been followed. An MoD spokesman said: "The discharges into the Gare Loch had no environmental consequences. "The MoD is a responsible nuclear operator and informed the appropriate regulatory authorities. "We commissioned an independent study into the facilities and practices at HM Naval Base Clyde and an improvement plan is currently under way to ensure modern standards and best practice at the base." |
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| Lord Pitsligo |
Sailors having an unpleasant discharge, who'd have thought, eh? | ||||
| doodells |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8019406.stm
Sorry I forgot to put the source of the above article. Does anyone else find the following statement a huge oxymoron? "An MoD spokesman said: "The discharges (of radioactive coolant) into the Gare Loch had no environmental consequences." That's impossible. I don't know what they judge to be an environmental consequence but I'd say exposing the loch's ecosystem to radioactive substances is an environmental consequence in itself. Just because nobody was killed directly doesn't mean that the ecosystem of the loch hasn't been affected. Having these weapons in the clyde is like doing a big dump in your own bedroom. |
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| Aventinian |
It's all really a matter of quantity. If I had a bedroom the size of the Clyde, then a small s**t up one end of it wouldn't bother me in the least. |
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| Lord Pitsligo |
How about if you had some radioactive material in the corner that was oozing into your water supply in the kitchen downstairs? Oh, and that was a really weird analogy by the way. You feeling ill today by any chance? |
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| Shagpile |
Why do they waste tax payers money trying to stop these discharges then? Of no consequency = no danger....... right? They're gonna volentarily comply with safety regulations...... wow, big relief then, for a moment I thought we'd all be fcuked! Davenport is moving to the Clyde too! Well the Clyde's big enough.! Are they gonna do a runner like the Americans did when they left Holy Loch? |
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| Aventinian |
So far as I know, the water supply doesn't come from the Clyde. Considering it's salt water, I believe, by the time it gets to Faslane it would be a bit counterproductive. Anyway, most material is radioactive to some extent - like I say, it's just a matter of how radioactive and who's going near it, for what length of time and with what level of tolerance.
I just like odd analogies. |
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| Lord Pitsligo |
Now you're mixing analogies with reality. 
Thanks for the very basic physics lesson, I'd suggest that anything that leaks out of a nuclear submarine is probably cause for concern. I do love the "who's going near it" comment - does that mean if it isn't you you don't care? |
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