Radioactive water from a Royal Navy nuclear weapons depot near Glasgow has leaked into Loch Long due to equipment wear, The Guardian reported, citing a report by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
The incident occurred at the Royal Navy weapons depot in Coulport, where nuclear warheads for four Vanguard-class submarines carrying American Trident II (D5) ballistic missiles are stored. According to the agency, the leak of a small amount of tritium occurred due to repeated bursts of old pipes that were not maintained in working order.
It is emphasized that the first pipe burst in Coulport occurred in 2010. Then, in 2019, two more similar incidents occurred, as a result of which “significant amounts of water“ flooded the storage facility and flowed through an open channel into Loch Long.
The agency assured that the level of radioactivity was very low and did not pose a risk to human health. Despite the intentions of the UK Ministry of Defense to improve the infrastructure of the site, two similar incidents occurred in 2021.
The Guardian notes that the Agency and the UK Ministry of Defense deliberately hid these incidents from the public for years. It was not until June that the Scottish Information Commissioner, David Hamilton, ordered the release of available information on the subject. The Defence Department stated that “at no stage were any dangerous releases of radioactive materials observed into the environment”.