Nuclear dump fears dismissed

Exporting radioactive waste to Scotland would be political suicide, says expert

By Iain Ramage

Published:

A nuclear expert has dismissed talk of the Highlands storing radioactive material from decommissioned nuclear submarines, saying it would be political suicide for Westminster to export the problem to Scotland.

Dounreay in Caithness is understood to be among five Scottish sites earmarked for possible storage of the “intermediate level waste” from decommissioned vessels.

Highland Council has always vehemently opposed any prospect of atomic waste from outwith the area being transported here.

The submarines are lying in various British dockyards.

Independent nuclear consultant John Large, of Large Associates (London), said: “We don’t have the policy, the technology, the means of transport or storage and disposal strategies in place to deal with this waste.

“It’s sensitive on the political scene because of the SNP.

“The UK Government knows if it pushes too far on decommissioning at Rosyth and dumping in Scotland then the SNP are going to gain votes from this.”

A study for the Ministry of Defence carried out by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, a government agency, has identified 12 UK sites it considers capable of storing the waste.

Neither the MoD nor the authority would confirm reports that the Scottish sites are Dounreay, Coulport and Faslane on the Clyde, Rosyth in Fife and Hunterston in North Ayrshire.

An authority spokesman insisted, however, there were no sites where there were any proposals to “accept” nuclear submarine waste.

He said the agency had told the MoD there were five sites where it was “technically feasible that waste may be accepted,” but that it was up to them to consider its options and that if that meant consideration of any authority sites the matter would go out to public consultation.

A spokesman for the MoD said: “It would be inappropriate to release details of these sites at this time.”

There are currently six decommissioned nuclear submarines at Rosyth and seven at Devonport, Plymouth. Two more are due to join the list next year and five others will follow before 2020.

Highlands and Islands SNP MSP Rob Gibson said: “Importing contaminated parts of nuclear submarines to the north of Scotland sends the exact opposite signal to the decommissioning strategy for Dounreay.

“The credibility of the decommissioning authority is at stake and it recognises the threat, calling the possible dumping of military nuclear waste on agency sites ‘contentious’.

Highland Council leader Michael Foxley said: “We have a unanimous, explicit policy of opposing any import of nuclear waste. The waste created at Dounreay is dealt with at Dounreay until such time as there is an acceptable UK repository.”