uk-navy-base-leaked-radioactive-water-into-scottish-loch

Radioactive water from the UK’s Coulport weapons depot leaked into Loch Long in western Scotland on multiple occasions after ageing pipes burst, according to files from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

The Royal Naval Armaments Depot stores the nuclear warheads for the British Royal Navy’s Trident-class submarines. SEPA reported that up to half of its 1,500 water pipes were beyond their design life when the leaks occurred.

 

It blamed “shortfalls in maintenance” for flooding that released low levels of tritium, a radioactive substance used in warheads, into the loch — a popular spot for swimmers, divers, kayakers and fishers. While small amounts of tritium are generally harmless, prolonged or high exposure can increase cancer risks.

 

Records show that pipes burst in 2010 and twice in 2019. In August 2019, flooding in a warhead processing area caused contaminated water to flow through an open drain into the loch. SEPA said the tritium levels were very low and posed no danger to public health.

 

The UK Ministry of Defence agreed in 2020 to take measures to prevent further bursts. However, SEPA did later found out that the speed of the project was slow, and problems with asset management persisted.

 

Two additional pipe bursts occurred in 2021, one in another area containing radioactive materials, prompting another SEPA inspection in 2022.
The documents were disclosed following a six-year legal battle under Scotland’s freedom of information laws.

 

In June, Scottish Information Commissioner David Hamilton ordered that most files be made public, dismissing military claims that secrecy was required to protect national security. Hamilton said the primary risk was to “reputations,” not safety.

 

While SEPA maintained that radioactivity levels from the incidents were very low and posed no threat to human health, it noted “shortfalls in maintenance and asset management” that led to the failure of pipe couplings and the production of unnecessary radioactive waste.

 

In May, it was also reported that 12 nuclear incidents at Faslane Royal Navy submarine base since 2023 that could have resulted in the release of radioactive substances.