Kenneth Gibson MSP has commented on the reports in the Sunday Herald of 'alarming and repeated' safety breaches at Faslane Naval Base on the Clyde. One of the consequences of these systematic breaches is that in August 2012, twenty workers at Faslane naval base were exposed to radiation when repairing a leaking tank near a nuclear reactor in operation.
The base is home to the UK's Trident nuclear missiles and the latest reports follow Defence Secretary Michael Fallon MP's announcement last week that the UK government has committed to spending another £640 million preparing for Trident renewal, without a single vote being cast by MPs at Westminster to confirm that . So far estimates are that about £4,000 million of taxpayer's money has been ploughed into the renewal programme.
Mr Gibson said:
"The Ministry of Defence (MoD) once again stands accused of a very poor approach to radiation safety at Faslane. When it comes to protecting our armed forces personnel, the contractors working at the base and the wider community, nuclear safety must be paramount.
"These incidents and how they were subsequently handled, pose real and serious questions, not just about nuclear safty procedures at the base but also whether the Office for Nuclear Regulation is doing enough, quickly enough, to address these concerns.
"The MoD must investigate; explain these failings and precisely what it is doing to resolve them."
The Sunday Herald article:
