from Sunday Herald, 19 August 2012
Had the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had its way, Britain’s 17 defunct nuclear submarines – seven of which are moored at the Rosyth naval dockyard in Fife – would have been dumped whole into the world’s oceans.
A secret MoD briefing extracted from the UK National Archives reveals that the ministry’s “technical preference” was to dispose of the radioactive hulks at sea without dismantling them. Dumping radioactive waste in this way would raise “many environmental and other issues”, it said.
Since Britain’s first nuclear-powered submarine, HMS Dreadnought, was taken out of service 30 years ago, the MoD has been trying to figure out how to get rid of its reactor compartment. Over the decades it has been joined at Rosyth by six other retired nuclear submarines, while another ten have been tied up at the Devonport naval base at Plymouth on the south coast of England.
Since 2000 the MoD has conducted a series of prolonged public consultations on what to do with all the submarines’ radioactive remains. The latest in the last year suggested that the reactor pressure vessels should be removed from the submarines at Rosyth and Devonport.
But what would then happen to them is still far from clear. The MoD says it wants to work with the government’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority on whether to build a new waste store on an MoD or commercial site, or to use current or planned stores at nuclear power station sites, like the one at Hunterston in North Ayrshire.
The MoD’s failure to ensure funding for decommissioning the submarines has been repeatedly criticised by its own internal nuclear safety regulator, Commodore David Langbridge. His 2011 annual report highlighted the lack of funding as a “risk to meeting government policy”.
The briefing unearthed from the National Archives by nuclear researcher, Brian Burnell, shows that the MoD has not always been so indecisive. Marked “confidential” on every page, it was prepared for Dr Dov Zakheim, a senior US defence official, ahead of a meeting in London, and sent on 14 August 1981 by Newman Beaumont, an MoD section head.
How to get rid of defunct nuclear submarines was a “major issue”, the MoD briefing warned. “Disposal by cutting up and burial on land in the UK or long-term laying up at UK berths are not favoured due to practical, financial and environmental reasons.”
It continued: “The MoD technical preference is for dumping the whole defueled submarine at sea, which is considered to be the cleanest, safest and most practical solution.”
Defining the submarine as low-level radioactive waste, the briefing concluded, “should mean that there is no strictly legal bar to its disposal at sea but this raises many environmental and other issues and it must be emphasised that no UK decision on disposal has been taken.”
The MoD dumped thousands of tonnes of radioactive wastes in the English Channel and the Northeast Atlantic between 1946 and 1983. In 1993 the MoD agreed to an indefinite ban on dumping radioactive waste at sea.
The Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (SCND) accused the MoD of failing to adequately consider how to dispose of nuclear submarines. “Since this briefing was written, they have launched eleven nuclear submarines and they are planning to build more,” said SCND’s coordinator, John Ainslie.
“Their callous suggestion that the vessels could just be dumped at sea, just illustrates how little thought they originally gave to this question.”
Peter Burt from the Nuclear Information Service, which monitors UK military activities, welcomed the MoD’s willingness to take decisions on scientific grounds rather that treating the oceans as a “giant dustbin”. But he warned there was further to go.
“Key decisions on the Royal Navy's nuclear legacy will be made over the next few months and the MoD must listen very carefully to the views of the local communities that will be most affected by the submarine dismantling options it is considering.”
Although it had considered sea disposal the best solution 30 years ago, the MoD stressed that it had never dumped a submarine at sea. “As a responsible nuclear operator we are committed to dismantling and disposing of our decommissioned submarines in a safe, secure and environmentally responsible way that complies with legislation,” said an MoD spokesman.
“Following a public consultation as part of the submarine dismantling project we are considering the responses, and decisions are expected to be announced in 2013.”
Photos of the three key pages from the Ministry of Defence briefing from the National Archives can be seen here, here and here.
Having known Brian Burnell for few decades, I can confirm that his 100% commitment to facts based arguments against dangers of adopting nuclear path to destruction by our governments of all verities is admirable. Because he is no body’s stooge many have abused his trust and lot his hard work has gone down the drains of dodgy politicians like John Denham.
In early 1980s Brian wrote a booklet on nuclear weapons. His local Labour Party of Southampton exploited his hard work and research by printing that under the name of John Denham, who those days having moved into Labour from some other right wing party used to pretend on the left of hard left. But then in government while building his political career by poodling for Blair and Brown became even more of NuLabourite than both of them and Mandelson put together, and went to support waste of public money of Trident while implementing Tory philosophy of cuts and privatisation of even our NHS.
Although I am not surprised that Brian as found even more secret dirt buried in archives yet again. Sincerely hope his efforts will not get exploited this time, but will be used for informing people about hypocrisy of people in power and very serious problem of nuclear waste.
I do not think English dominated British establishment is ever going to listen to likes of Brian and others who very rightly keep on warning the world about dangers of nuclear developments. Although the people in power may decide to treat them the same way they are dealing with Julian Assange, for having the cheek to expose nasty secrets of various governments especially the USA.
Big business interests which tend use self serving political classes all over the globe; want to mint mega money by selling super dangerous nuclear creations either in the shape of weaponry or by misguiding both war mongering tyrants and gullible governments by convincing them with false propaganda that to go nuclear is environmentally friendly method for producing electric.
These people are so evil that they could easily make monster of Frankenstein candidate for Sainthood. Otherwise we the people of this planet won’t simply be talking about few submarines of former master of America and now USA’s de facto slave otherwise called Great Britain, which in reality these days is virtually Bankrupt Britain, but collection of nuclear waste of Himalayan proportions.
Finally sane people who care about our planet Earth should appreciate and support sites like this, which are brave and honest enough and are trying to wake the masses up.
Paramjit Bahia
Former General Secretary of British Indian Councillors Association (UK)
Posted by: Paramjit Bahia | 19 August 2012 at 02:13 PM