Radioactive Water Leak Exposes UK Nuclear Depot Neglect
(MENAFN) Radioactive water leaks from the UK’s Coulport weapons depot have repeatedly spilled into Loch Long in western Scotland, exposing critical maintenance failures at the facility, according to documents released by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and published by an investigative platform.
The Royal Naval Armaments Depot, responsible for storing nuclear warheads for Britain’s Trident submarines, suffered multiple pipe bursts due to aging infrastructure. SEPA reported that nearly half of the depot’s 1,500 water pipes had exceeded their design life when these leaks occurred. The agency attributed the contamination to “shortfalls in maintenance” that led to flooding and the release of low levels of tritium—a radioactive element used in warheads—into the popular recreational waters of Loch Long, frequented by swimmers, divers, kayakers, and fishers. While small tritium quantities are generally considered safe, prolonged exposure can increase cancer risks.
Records show pipe failures in 2010 and twice in 2019, including an August 2019 flood in a warhead processing area, where contaminated water escaped through an open drain into the loch. SEPA assured the public that tritium levels remained very low and posed no health threat.
Despite the UK Ministry of Defense’s 2020 commitment to upgrades, SEPA found that progress on maintenance and asset management remained sluggish. Two additional pipe bursts occurred in 2021, with one incident involving another radioactive area, triggering a further SEPA inspection in 2022.
The documents were made public after a six-year legal battle under Scotland’s freedom of information laws. Scottish Information Commissioner David Hamilton ordered their release in June, dismissing the military’s argument that secrecy was essential for national security. Hamilton stated the primary risk was to “reputations,” not public safety.
SEPA confirmed, “shortfalls in maintenance and asset management led to the failure of the coupling that indirectly led to the production of unnecessary radioactive waste,” though radiation levels were low and did not endanger human health.
This revelation follows a May report from the platform highlighting 12 nuclear incidents at the Faslane Royal Navy submarine base since 2023, raising concerns about ongoing radioactive releases in the region.
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