Exclusive, 24 September 2014
Nuclear trucks that should have been scrapped more than a decade ago keep breaking down – and could cause a disaster on the roads.
A former senior safety official at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has warned that an accident could trigger a fire and a leak of radioactivity.
Official documents have revealed that lorries that were scheduled to be retired in 2003 are still being used to transport dangerous and highly sensitive nuclear cargoes. Shipments of plutonium and uranium have been made between Britain’s nuclear bomb factories in Berkshire, and across England.
Plans to replace the trucks with new vehicles were dropped in favour of adapting existing warhead carriers, but there have been delays in implementing this solution.
According to an official MoD log of safety incidents, the 20-year-old “high security vehicles” have stayed in service and suffered a series of equipment defects since 2010. The warhead carriers meant to take over from them have also had problems, with a total of 70 nuclear convoy incidents recorded by the MoD between July 2007 and December 2012.
Fred Dawson, a radiation safety expert with the MoD for 31 years, pointed out that the incidents included fuel leaks, which were serious matters. “They have the potential to lead to a fire and the loss of the vehicle together with its cargo,” he said.
“This all smacks of a penny-pinching make-do-and-mend culture within the MoD’s nuclear programmes. It also demonstrates that the MoD is willing to put cost-saving before public safety.”
Dawson, who retired as head of the MoD’s radiation protection policy team in 2009, was cutting about his former employer’s safety record. “This does little to instill a sense of confidence in the safety of MoD’s nuclear activities,” he added. “One hopes that the MoD has RAC or AA home recovery cover on all its vehicles.”
Two H-registered Seddon Atkinson lorries have been regularly used to transport plutonium and other vital nuclear bomb components between the weapons plants at Aldermaston and Burghfield in Berkshire. They have also taken highly-enriched uranium fuel pellets to Rolls Royce’s submarine reactor plant in Derby and radioactive materials to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, from where they are flown to the US.
Documents released by the MoD under freedom of information law disclose that the trucks were initially due to be replaced in 2003 and then again in 2009 as they would become “increasingly unsupportable”. They now have to be frequently serviced “to minimise risk of breakdown/malfunction”.
The MoD’s incident log shows that the trucks were repeatedly delayed between 2010 and 2012 by breakdowns caused by “wear and tear”. A faulty clutch forced a convoy to return to Aldermaston for a replacement vehicle, and an “alternator failure” triggered a 50-minute delay while the convoy was diverted to find replacement parts. There was also a “minor fuel leak”, a defective tail lift and a flat battery.
The documents were obtained by Nukewatch, which monitors nuclear convoys in the UK. “Deadly cargoes of highly radioactive materials are being driven round the country in unreliable, antiquated vehicles,” said the group’s Jane Tallents. “Members of the public driving on Britain's roads are being placed at unnecessary risk.”
According to the MoD, the trucks are expected to be retired “around late 2014 to early 2015”. It stressed that public safety was always its priority.
“Vehicles used to transport nuclear material are subject to robust maintenance and inspection to ensure they remain safe and effective,” said an MoD spokeswoman.
“As can happen with all vehicles, minor mechanical problems do sometimes occur, but these are resolved quickly in line with clear safety procedures and at no point has the public been at risk. We have recently started using a newer fleet of vehicles which are accompanied at all times by MoD Police but for operational reasons we cannot comment further on the fleet.”
Documents released by the Ministry of Defence can be download here: Engineering incidents during nuclear convoys 1 Jul 2007 - 31 Dec 2012; Operational incidents during nuclear convoys 1 Jul 2007 - 31 Dec 2012; and Reports on special nuclear materials convoy.
There is also a report on the Nuclear Information Service website. This story was followed up by STV.
Comments