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UK looks ashore for nuclear submarine disposal
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| 22 June 2000 |
Peter Howard
With dockyard space running out, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced (11 May) new proposals for the safe storage on land of decommissioned nuclear-powered submarines.
The MoD is quick to emphasise that the current method of storing the submarines afloat at Devonport, England or Rosyth, Scotland still remains safe, but according to current plans storage capacity will be exhausted in 2012. The UK still does not have a national facility for disposing of intermediate level nuclear waste - and is not likely to have one by 2012.
When a Royal Navy (RN) nuclear submarine is decommissioned, the fuel is removed to Sellafield nuclear complex for long-term storage, but the remaining radioactive material in the reactor compartment still needs to be stored safely somewhere, pending the establishment of a national facility.
The MoD study, said Defence Minister Dr Lewis Moonie, showed that the difficulty of identifying suitable alternative afloat sites for further submarines (after 2012) meant that "storing the radioactive components on land would provide the best overall solution."
The next phase of the study will last about three years. Industry will be invited to submit proposals and the best land storage method and potentially suitable sites will be identified. The study will include full consultation and an environmental impact assessment will be undertaken for each storage option taken forward.
Babcock Rosyth Defence Ltd (BRDL) has shown that industry is alive to the problem and, in a separate move, they have been given to go-ahead to start planning and feasibility work on a company proposal. This will involve a scheme for removing the reactor compartment of one decommissioned submarine (Renown - the SSBN which ended RN service in 1996) and storing the compartment on land at Rosyth.
Although 2012 seems a long way off, Moonie said the forecast problem of space meant it was "important for us to start work on looking at alternative options now. Safety remains of paramount importance - we are seeking a safe and practical solution, not a cheap option. We will work to the same standards of safety that apply to the civil nuclear industry".
BRDL's proposal, said the Minister "could be a useful way to test out the feasibility and practicality of one of the possible land storage methods."
The US Navy (USN) stores reactor compartments at a site in Washington State - in an area left uncovered, allowing for 'open' inspection. The USN has decommissioned over 70 nuclear submarines; the UK has 11 stored in the two dockyards.
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| Removal of the submarine's intact reactor compartment is a method used by the US Navy. (Source: MoD, Ships Support Agency) |