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4.27.2009

MoD guilty of repeated nuclear safety breaches

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/apr/27/nuclear-mod-clyde-saftey-breaches
http://www.hmforces.co.uk/nfs/hmforces/attachment_images/0000/9748/484px-HMNB_Clyde_crop380w.jpg
[Faslane HM Naval Base on the River Clyde in Scotland]

Britain's nuclear submarine fleet has been hit by a series of serious safety breaches involving repeated leaks of radioactive waste, broken pipes and waste tanks at its home base on the Clyde, the Ministry of Defence has disclosed.
In a confidential report released under the Freedom of Information Act, the MoD has admitted that safety failings at the UK's main nuclear submarine base at Faslane, near Glasgow, are a "recurring theme" and ingrained in the base's culture.
The worst breaches include three leaks of radioactive coolant from nuclear submarines in 2004, 2007 and 2008 into the Firth of Clyde, while last year a radioactive waste plant manager was replaced. It emerged he had no qualifications in radioactive waste management.
The repeated safety breaches, which have been revealed in documents released to Channel 4 News, are so serious that the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) has warned that it would consider closing the base down if it had the legal powers to do so.
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