[ RadSafe ] UK nuclear accidents blamed on poor safety

[Fred Dawson]

UK nuclear accidents blamed on poor safety

 

http://www.robedwards.com/2007/08/uks-nuclear-acc.html#more
<http://www.robedwards.com/2007/08/uks-nuclear-acc.html#more> 

 

Two of the UK's most serious nuclear weapons accidents in the 1980s were
caused by long term lapses in safety procedures, according to newly
declassified government reports released to New Scientist under freedom of
information laws. The accidents look more serious than previously admitted
by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

 

The first accident happened on 2 May 1984 at RAF Bruggen in Germany. 

A nuclear warhead was damaged in transit when its container slid off a wet
trailer as it turned a corner. The warhead rolled onto the tarmac and was
dented within its container.

 

The base was shut down while the bomb was partially dismantled and
scientists were flown in from the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at
Aldermaston in Berkshire, UK, to X-ray the warhead. 

The released reports show that they were worried about the stability of the
conventional high explosives used to trigger the nuclear reaction, and the
appearance of a "crack-like feature" on the X-rays.

 

But after 23 days, the bomb was deemed safe to transport and was flown back
to Aldermaston for decommissioning. According to New Scientist, the MoD's
board of inquiry concluded that the accident was caused by the "wrongful
act" of failing to attach the bomb container to the trailer, and recommended
disciplining six servicemen.

 

Evidence to the inquiry revealed that a regulation saying that containers
must be secured when moved had been routinely ignored since October 1981.
Bruggen's commander at the time, whose name has been removed from the
declassified report, admitted that the breach had almost become a standard
operating procedure, though it was an "outrageously high risk practice".

 

The second accident occurred at Coulport naval base in Strathclyde, UK, on 3
December 1987, when a faulty Polaris missile was being unloaded from the
Royal Navy submarine HMS Repulse. As the missile was being locked down onto
a trailer, a crane unexpectedly hoisted it into the air, causing it to swing
and crash into the trailer supports. 

 

According to New Scientist, the MoD's board of inquiry found that the weapon
had suffered "adverse shock". The inquiry blamed broken controls in the
crane, which had missed 40 per cent of its regular mechanical and electrical
checks in the previous 12 months. The inquiry concluded that had the crane
been properly maintained, "it is highly probable that the incident would not
have occurred". 

 

The board of inquiry also argued that pressure to move the missile hastily
was "not conducive" to safety. "There was clear evidence of delay,
frustration and an urgency to compete the operations quickly," 

it said.

 

The MoD, however, dismissed the accidents as "minor". They were "fully
investigated to rigorous safety standards and, where necessary, procedures
were modified," an MoD spokeswoman told New Scientist.

 

"The MoD continues to maintain the highest standards of safety and security
during the storage, transportation or deployment of nuclear weapons. There
has never been an accident involving UK nuclear weapons that has presented
any risk to the public."

 

Copies of the reports released by the Ministry of Defence on the accident at
RAF Bruggen can be downloaded here.

 

Copies of the reports released on the Coulport and two other accidents
involving nuclear weapons can be downloaded here.

 

Fred Dawson

 

 

Fred Dawson

New Malden

England