British nuclear weapons radiation scandal

This video from Scotland says about itself:

Scottish Independence – Secrets and Lies (Part 3) – NUKES

15 Oct 2012

Do the UK’s nuclear weapons, stored at Coulport and deployed via submarine from Faslane, really improve the safety of the British isles, or of Scotland? What effect would Scottish independence have on our current WMD capability?

The declassified launch failures of Polaris, Trident I, and Trident II missiles are shown, radiation risks at Faslane and Dalgety Bay are outlined (two examples of the high-handed negligence the UK Ministry of Defence routinely shows toward the people it is supposed to protect), corruption of the lobbying system involving BAE Systems and retired generals is shown, and also the many mishaps involving the next-generation HMS Astute.

By Rory MacKinnon in Britain:

CND calls for suspension of ‘radiation risk’ submarines

Friday 7th March 2014

Engineers detected radiation spilling into the reactor coolant of the Trident fleet’s Vanguard vessel in January 2012

Anti-nuke activists demanded an immediate suspension of Britain’s nuclear submarine patrol yesterday after MPs heard of a radiation leak – over two years after the fact.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond sought to “reassure” the Commons yesterday after admitting that engineers detected radiation spilling into the reactor coolant of the Trident fleet’s Vanguard vessel in January 2012.

…

But the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament‘s John Ainslie described the news as “appalling.”

Mr Ainslie said the submarines’ continued round-the-clock operation was putting lives at risk.

“Trident and Astute submarines should all be kept in port until the cause of the fuel cladding failure is fully understood,” he said.

The ageing fleet docked at Scotland’s Faslane naval base is due for a £65bn replacement scheme before 2016 in order to remain functional, according to the Ministry of Defence.

But anti-war and anti-austerity movements have pressed Westminster to abandon the project instead, with full-cost estimates of up to £100bn.

The Scottish government has vowed to eject the fleet following a vote for independence in September – which experts say would leave the programme without an acceptable base of operations anywhere in Britain.

Alex Salmond demands apology over submarine radiation leak in Scotland: here.

Oil giant Shell drilled into the Scottish independence debate yesterday, claiming that a split would hit the “certainty” of its North Sea profits: here.

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• Ministers ‘not told’ about radiation
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• MoD waited two years to disclose leak in nuclear submarine reactor