MoD guilty of repeated nuclear safety breaches

Britain's nuclear submarine fleet has been hit by a series of serious safety breaches involving repeated leaks of radioactive waste, broken pipes and waste tanks at its home base on the Clyde, the Ministry of Defence has disclosed.

The worst breaches include three leaks of radioactive coolant from nuclear submarines in 2004, 2007 and 2008 into the Firth of Clyde, while last year a radioactive waste plant manager was replaced. It emerged he had no qualifications in radioactive waste management.

The repeated safety breaches, which have been revealed in documents released to Channel 4 News, are so serious that the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) has warned that it would consider closing the base down if it had the legal powers to do so.

Leaks of radioactive coolant contaminated with tritium and cobalt from three nuclear submarines into the Firth of Clyde,

The withdrawal from service of the main waste discharge barge because it was antiquated and faulty.

Admissions by the MoD that safety failings are "a recurring theme" at Faslane.

The discovery that two radioactive waste tanks are now a "significant" and "growing" radiation hazard because of a build-up of radioactive sludge, and need to be taken out of service.

Defective welds in radioactive waste pipes allowed waste to leak out undetected, while inspections revealed a series of loose pipework and leaking seals.