New figures released by the Ministry of Defence reveal hundreds of safety incidents that took place at Faslane, the home of the Britain’s Trident nuclear submarines, as well as at Coulpourt, where nuclear warheads are stored.
In a letter to SNP MP Deidre Brock, Defence Minister Stuart Andrew disclosed 789 safety events, some of which were Category A ‘events’ which are deemed to have “actual or high potential for radioactive release to the environment of quantities in excess of IRR99 notification limits”.
The MoD figures also show that there have been 22 fires on nuclear armed or nuclear-powered submarines since 2015.
Sara Medi Jones, Acting General Secretary of CND, said:
“Trident is in crisis. The public is losing confidence in the government’s ability to manage this inherently dangerous nuclear weapons system.
“A single incident involving a nuclear warhead at Faslane could devastate whole swathes of Scotland. We should therefore be very concerned that hundreds of incidents have been recorded in such a short period of time.
“If these safety incidents are now the norm, how can we be sure that the next one won’t cause major harm? Cancelling Trident is an essential step to leaving a less dangerous and more peaceful world for the next generation.”
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Original image credit: Faslane 365