Radioactive Water Leaks into Sea from Scottish Nuclear Base

Radioactive Water Leaks into Sea from Scottish Nuclear Base
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A new investigation by The Guardian and the investigative website The Ferret has revealed that radioactive water leaked into the sea from a UK nuclear bomb base in Scotland. The leaks, which involved low levels of the radioactive substance tritium, occurred at the Coulport and Faslane naval bases due to the Royal Navy’s failure to properly maintain a network of pipes.

According to files from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa), up to half of the components at the Coulport armaments depot, which stores the UK’s nuclear warheads, were past their design life when the leaks happened. Sepa’s confidential inspection reports and emails, released after a six-year legal battle, blamed “shortfalls in maintenance” for the “unnecessary radioactive waste” being released into Loch Long.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) had initially fought to keep the files secret, citing national security, but a Scottish information commissioner ruled that the disclosure was a matter of protecting “reputations,” not national security. The MoD has since stated that they place the “utmost importance” on the safe handling of radioactive substances and Sepa has indicated that “substantial improvements” have been made.