Much of the Scottish Media has spent the last two days headlining the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) intention to dump nuclear waste from redundant nuclear submarines in up to 5 locations in Scotland.
Our own concern with the matter – apart from environmental concerns that ground our opposition to nuclear energy deployed for any purposes whatsoever – is that ‘more than one’ of these locations is in Argyll.
In fact there are 2 sites in Argyll under consideration for this purpose: Faslane and Coulport. The other 3 Scottish locations are Rosyth in Fife, Doonreay in Caithness and Hunterston in Ayr.
There are very real issues to do with the disposal of nuclear waste and other material contaminated by radioactivity. These issues, however, are not those causing concern at the moment. For that reason they are currently below the level of public awareness – a potentially damaging situation.
What we are doing here is working to establish the objective facts of the situation, to discriminate between short term issues with limited long term impact and to identify the issues that are of real and enduring concern.
We are also, at the end of this article, describing in detail the UK’s redundant nuclear submarine fleets (and those approaching redundancy), their current status and their locations; and submarines in current service.
The immediate problem
When nuclear submarines are decommissioned, their spent nuclear fuel – classified as high level waste – is removed and taken to secure storage on the site of the nuclear processing plant at Sellafield in Cumbria.
The area of the submarine around its reactor core remains radioactive, classified as intermediate level waste.
It is this material for which the MoD is currently concerned to find disposal sites.
The disposal of redundant nuclear submarines has long been a known problem and has not yet been fully resolved. Even breaking these ships carries issues not yet adequately addressed.
The pressure is mounting simply because of their continuing presence in lay up in two locations – Rosyth in Fife and Devonport in the south of England. Their significant ongoing deterioration brings a potential environmental hazard because of the irradiated intermediate-level nuclear waste in the area around the reactor core of each ship.
So what submarines are in which location?
Rosyth in Fife: 7 redundant nuclear submarines:
- Dreadnought – the first of the UK’s nuclear submarines and the only one of its kind ever built. During its construction a more advanced form of propulsion was developed. Commissioned in 1963, Dreadnought had what are described as ‘minor hull cracking problems’ and was withdrawn from service in 1980 because of machinery damage. Since then she has been ‘laid up indefinitely (at Rosyth) while her radioactive contamination decays’ – an interesting euphemism.
- Resolution, Repulse, Renown and Revenge – all 4 of the Resolution class, commissioned in the late 1960s and progressively decommissioned in the 1990’s as the Vanguard class submarines, their replacement as nuclear ballistic missile submarines, came into service.
- Churchill – giving its name to a class of 3 submarines built in an improved variation of the Valiant class design. Commissioned in 1970, decommissioned in 1990.
- Swiftsure, the first of her class of 6 attack submarines and the older of the two attack classes still in service. The new – and late – Astute class will replace both. Commissioned in 1973 and decommissioned in 1992 because of damage done to her pressure hull during trials.
Devonport on the English south coast: 8 redundant nuclear submarines
- Valiant and Warspite, the 2 Valiant class submarines commissioned in the mid-1960s and decommissioned in the early 1990s.
- Conqueror and Courageous, the 2 sisters of Churchill in the 3 ship Churchill class. Commissioned in 1971 and decommissioned at he start of the 1990s. Courageous is serving as a Museum ship.
- Sovereign, Superb, Spartan, and Splendid, 4 of the 6 Swiftsure class. Commissioned in the mid-late 1970s and progressively decommissioned in the 2000s.
Of the 7 submarines moored at Rosyth, 6 were commissioned in or before 1970 and the 7th in 1973.
Of the 8 submarines in Devonport, 4 were commissioned in or before 1971 and 4 in the mid-late 1970s.
So what is the MoD doing?
The MoD commissioned the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) to report on whether any of its existing storage facilities for high-level waste would be capable of taking the intermediate level waste from redundant nuclear submarines.
The storage facilities owned by the NDA in Scotland are at each of the 3 sites that it owns – Doonreay in Caithness, Hunterston in Ayr and Chapel Cross near Annan in Dumfries & Galloway.
The NDA has reported that all of these sites would be able to receive the material in question but has not endorsed the use of any of them.
Should the MoD – which also has sites of its own – wish to pursue the use of any of the NDA sites, it would have to carry out a full Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and a full public consultation – both lengthy processes – before taking the results of these to the NDA Board in requesting permission to use the storage facilities in question.
It is worth noting that, in relation to the overall volume of nuclear waste of all kinds to be disposed of by the NDA, the percentage of the total of intermediate waste to be taken from the redundant nuclear submarines amounts to 0.02%.
It is also worth noting that the NDA’s storage facilities for high-level nuclear waste can be safely entered without the wearing of special protection suits.
So what are the issues?
There are three: the disposal of irradiated material remaining on redundant submarines; their ship breaking; and the really big issue – sites for the final disposal of nuclear waste.
Irradiated material on redundant submarines
This is the immediate issue and the one driving the MoD’s effective public statement of intent.
The issue is to find safe storage for the intermediate-level nuclear waste to be taken from the redundant submarines currently laid up at Rosyth and Devonport so that the ships can be broken up.
Such storage is a manageably low-risk interim measure, not a long term solution – which is where the serious issues lie. It is, though, not a short term interim. It is likely to be 30 years before such waste will be removed from storage for final disposal.
On the current situation, Marine Scotland’s position is that it welcomes the MoD proposal to move to public consultation and to conduct a full Strategic Environmental Assessment.
Apart from submarines already withdrawn from service, there are several still in service who’s decommissioning is not far off. These are based at Faslane – now in the process of becoming the UK’s sole base for submarine operations – and are listed, with commentary, in the section at the end of this article.
The point of looking at submarines based at Faslane and still in service for a limited period is that the practice of the NDA, where possible, is to construct secure storage facilities on a site undergoing decommissioning and therefore the source of nuclear waste requiring storage. Risk is reduced by limiting the movement of nuclear waste. This reasoning accounts for the fact that the 3 Scottish storage sites owned by NDA are at Doonreay, Hunterston and Chapel Cross.
The MoD can be expected to consider the option of using or building its own storage facilities at sites where submarines now – or to become, redundant will require high and intermediate level nuclear waste to be removed and stored.
This is where Faslane and Coulport, the 2 sites under consideration in Argyll, would come into play in public consultation and debate. There is a coming need for on site storage of irradiated material removed from redundant submarines to be broken up.
Our recommendation is that where this form of storage may be contemplated and actioned at Faslane an/or Coulport, the MoD should contract the NDA to deliver the storage facility and its management. The MoD’s track record does not bear comparison with the standards of safety and efficiency obtaining at NDA storage sites.
Breaking redundant submarines
The older these submarines are and the longer they have been lying up with this material still on board, the greater the risk of wider contamination of material on the ship. This may have implications for the safe breaking of some of the ships lying at Rosyth and Devonport and for the safe disposal of their scrap.
Some of the older ships – and Dreadnought in particular, laid up since 1980 – may not now be in a fit condition to be moved – and to be safely moved – for breaking.
Marine Scotland says that no decision has currently been taken to dismantle redundant nuclear submarines in Scotland.
To the best of our understanding – and we have asked the MoD for confirmation or upgraded information – the only place in the UK currently capable of breaking nuclear submarines is the dockyard at Devonport.
Given the age and condition of some of the submarines lying at Rosyth, it is unlikely that they would be transported to Devonport for breaking.
The probability is the development of a facility at Rosyth for this purpose. The risk here would arise from the best value procedures currently governing contracts; and the availability of qualified and previously experienced staff to do the job. Inexpert work and inexperienced operatives are more likely to cause accidents and take the wrong decision on the hoof.
Deficiencies in these areas would aggravate any environmental risk arising from such activity. For evidence of the phenomenon we are identifying here, one has only to look at the hicksville that was Doonreay in its pomp – chucking nuclear waste down a rock cleft.
This is one of the two issues we see as being of real cause for concern.
Final disposal of nuclear waste
Here is the real issue for watchfulness into the future.
At the moment, nuclear waste goes into containers held in the sort of storage facilities we have described above.
But this is a holding operation, albeit a mid-term holding operation.
According to the NDA, we are at least 30 years away from having a secure deep-burial final location for such waste.
Unable to neutralise radioactive material, this primitive solution is all there is, operating at little more than best guesstimates of the timeframes within which the material can be assumed to remain secure.
Deep-burial will involve drilling 1,000 metres down into rock shown by geological surveys to offer stability, then inserting nuclear waste in secure jacket containers and sealing up the facility.
It is obvious how many points of potential failure exist in such a proposed procedure.
We know that Scotland’s seabed south of the archipelago of the Isle of Barra has shown the sort of geological reassurance the MoD is looking for. And we know that the imperial mindset will always look to dispose of risk in what are perceived as the colonies.
The Crown Estate owns and generates revenue from the UK’s seabed out to the 12-mile limit. It has confirmed the procedure that would apply should the MoD wish to use deep-burial procedures for nuclear waste in a marine location in Scottish waters.
The MOD would need to get consent from the Scottish Government, through Marine Scotland, under the Food and Environment Protection Act (FEPA) to dump such waste in this way.
There is little doubt that the current Scottish Government would not be minded to offer such permission. Alternative political administrations would be likely to adopt different positions.
In the event of permission being granted, the Crown Estate would then issue the relevant licences or the activity.
We asked whether and what fees would apply in respect of such licenses but the Crown Estate twice failed to answer the question.
So the big issue is…?
The imperative is to watch for and resist moves to locate deep burial sites for nuclear waste disposal on Scotland’s land or marine territory.
Such solutions are untested, pragmatic, short-term responses to a very profound problem. They will do nothing other than get the stuff out of sight and, in political terms, out of mind. We would be – literally and irresponsibly – burying timebombs.
Redundant UK submarines
The Dreadnought class
Dreadnought was the United Kingdom’s first nuclear-powered submarine. Launched on 21st October 1960, she was commissioned on 17th April 1963. She was the only one of her class to be built because a new propulsion system for nuclear submarines was developed during her building, so procurement moved to new generation submarines.
Dreadnought made history on 3rd March 1971, becoming the first British submarine to surface at the North Pole.
She had ‘minor hull-cracking problems’ during her service and was retired in 1980 because of machinery damage. Since then she has been lying at Rosyth Naval Dockyard, awaiting disposal while her radioactive contamination decays. Her nuclear fuel ws removed and she was stripped of useful equipment.
The Valiant Class
The Valiant class – of two ships – was the first fully British nuclear fleet submarine. Launched in the mid-1960s and retired in the early 1990s, both are lying at Devonport.
- Valiant herself was launched on 3rd December 1963 and commissioned on 18th July 1066. She was decommissioned in 1994 because of the discovery of cracks in her primary to secondary cooling system.
- Warspite was launched on 25th September 1965 and commissioned on 18th April 1967. She was decommissioned in 1991.
The Resolution Class
The 4 ships of the Resolution Class were ballistic submarines armed with Polaris – the Uk’s primary nuclear deterrent from the 1960s until 1994 when they were progressively replaced by the Trident-armed Vanguard class. They came into being when President Kennedy backed down from a US position of concern about the UK having an independent nuclear deterrent. Ironically, in today’s terms, the Americans were concerned about being drawn into a war by the UK.
Launched in the mid-late 1960s, all 4 Resolutions were based at Faslane and all 4 retired as the Vanguards entered service. They are laid up at Rosyth dockyard with their reactors removed and awaiting disposal.
- Resolution herself was launched on 15th September 1966 and commissioned on 2nd October 1967.
- Repulse was launched on 4th November 1967 and commissioned on 28th September 1968.
- Renown was launched on 25th February 1967 and commissioned on 15th November 1968.
- Revenge was launched on 15th March 1968 and commissioned on 4th December 1969.
The Churchill Class
The 3 ships of this class are ‘improved’ Valiant class designs. Launched between 1968 and 1970, they were decommissioned at the start of the 1990s. Churchill, the first, is lying at Rosyth and the other 2 are at Devonport.
- Churchill herself was launched on 20th December 1968 and commissioned on 15th July 1970. She was decommissioned in 1990 and is laid up at Rosyth awaiting disposal.
- Conqueror was launched on 28th August 1969 and commissioned on 9th November 1971. She will be remembered as the submarine that sank Argentina’s General Belgrano in disputed circumstances in the Falklands War and with the loss of 323 men. This made her the only nuclear-powered submarine to have engaged an enemy ship with torpedoes. She attracted public recoil, given the controversial sinking of the Belgrano, when, as was naval tradition, she flew the Jolly Roger to celebrate her ‘hit’ on returning to Faslane. Decommissioned in 1990, she is laid up at Devonport awaiting disposal.
- Courageous was launched on 7th March 1970 and commissioned on 16th October 1971. She was decommissioned in 1992 and serves as a Museum Ship at at Devonport Dockyard.
The Swiftsure Class
Swiftsure is the older of two still serving classes of attack submarines (with Trafalgar the newer). The new attack submarines of the Astute class, none yet in service, will replace both the Swiftsures and the Trafalgars. Launched in the mid to late 1970s, the Swiftsures have been progressively decommissioned in the 2000s with only one, Sceptre, remaining in service and due to be decommissioned next year in 2010.
- Swiftsure herself launched on 7th September 1971 and was commissioned on 17th April 1973. She was decommissioned in 1992 because of pressure hull damage suffered during trials. She is lying at Rosyth awaiting disposal.
- Sovereign launched on 17th February 1973 and was commissioned on 11th July 1974. She was decommissioned on 12th September 2006. She is lying at Devonport awaiting disposal.
- Superb launched on 30th November 1974 and was commissioned on 13th Nov 1976. In 2007 she was involved in an incident which discharged radioactive material into the Gareloch in Argyll. She was decommissioned on 26th September 2008 following her striking of a submerged rock pinnacle in tbe Red Sea. This left her unable to submerge and with a disabled sonar array. She limped to Cyprus from where she was transported back to the UK and is now lying at Devonport awaiting disposal.
- Sceptre launched 20th November 1976. and was commissioned on 14th Feb 1978. She is still in service but scheduled to be decommissioned in 2010.
- Spartan launched on 7th April 1978 and was commissioned on 22nd September 1979. She was decommissioned in January 2006 and is lying in Devonport awaiting disposal.
- Splendid was launched on 5th October 1979 and was commissioned on 21st March 1981. She was decommissioned in 2004 after defence cuts caused a reduction in the size of the Royal Navy’s submarine fleet. Splendid was present, along with the US Navy submarines Memphis and Toledo, at the Russian war exercises during which the Russian submarine Kursk exploded and sank, resulting in the loss of the ship and her 118-strong crew. Regardless of the conclusions of independent forensic inquiries and the eventual corroborating admission by the Russian Navy that the explosion was triggered by a faulty torpedo on Kursk, various conspiracy theories hold that Kursk was in fact sunk by a US or UK submarine.
Submarines still in service and based at Faslane include:
The last Swiftsure
Sceptre – the one remaining member of the Swiftsure class of attack submarines, is due to be decommissioned next year in 2010.
The Trafalgar Class
Trafalgar, Turbulent, Tireless, Torbay, Trenchant, Talent, Triumph – all 7 of the Trafalgar class of attack submarines, are an upgraded version of the Swiftsure class. They were commissioned in sequence from 1983 – 1991 and, as of 2008, are scheduled to remain in service until 2022.
Trafalgar hit the headlines when she collided with the Isle of Skye in 2002 during Operation Cockfight. It emerged that the RN operated a policy of not marking navigational charts but using disposable sheets of school-quality tracing paper laid on top of them. The opacity of this paper rendered some contour lines invisible and led to Trafalgar striking an underwater ridge north of the island. This proved a very ill-judged parsimony given the cost of the extensive repairs required by the ship.
Tireless, in 2007, suffered a small onboard explosion causing the death of two sailors and injuries to a third. The accident took place while the submarine was submerged under the Arctic icecap during a joint British-American exercise. A faulty oxygen candle in the forward section of the submarine was identified as the cause of the accident.
The Trafalgar class has suffered a steady series of technical problems. Trenchant had to shut down her reactor in 1998 because of a steam leak. Tireless had to go into Gibraltar under diesel power in 2000 after cracks were discovered in her reactor cooling pipes. Both Trafalgar (in 2004) and Torbay (in 2008) have been involved in incidents where radioactive material was discharged into the Gareloch in Argyll. Also in 2000, with Tireless in Gibraltar and Trafalgar on sea trials, it emerged that there was only one ship operational of the 7 Trafalgars – Triumph. The remaining 4 – Torbay, Trenchant, Turbulent and Talent – were all in Devonport simultaneously for repair or refit.
While all problems were said to have been resolved in refits by 2005, this track record would cast doubt on the likelihood of the Trafalgars remaining in service as currently scheduled, until 2022.
The Trafalgars and the one remaining earlier Swiftsure class, Sceptre, are due to be replaced by the new attack class, the Astutes, of which the first, well over both budget and schedule, is currently doing tests to prove her reactor before preparing for sea trials.
The Vanguard Class
The 4 ships of the Vanguard Class are the UK’s current nuclear ballistic missile submarine fleet, carrying the Trident missiles. They are now the sole carriers of UK nuclear weapons. Commissioned between 1994 and 2000, all 4 Vanguards are based at Faslane.
They were planned to be replaced by the 4 submarines to be built to carry the new generation Trident missiles but this plan has been beset by a range of problems.
First, deficits in coordination and communications meant that the new American-made Trident missiles are larger than the existing ones where the British-made submarines to carry them were designed on the assumption that the dimensions would remain the same. Worryingly Heath-Robinson solutions to this dilemma are currently under consideration.
Then Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced recently that as part of his plan to reduce the level of the now historical national debt, he was reducing the number of new Trident-carrying submarines on order from 4 to 3. Expert opinion is that, because the unit costs of the remaining 3 will consequently be higher, this will save very little and at the cost of serious operational limitation. Four ships are generally regarded as the necessary minimum to ensure that one is operational at any given time. The formula is that one ship is on patrol, another working up to take over, one engaged in training new recruits and one in for refit.
- Vanguard herself launched on 26th May 1994 and was commissioned in December 1994. She hit worldwide headlines in the Spring of this year in an underwater collision with the French Navy’s nuclear submarine, Le Triomphant. She limped back to Faslane where significant hull damage was visible to photographers with long lenses. She has been repaired and is now working up again.
- Victorious was launched on 24th July 1995 and commissioned in December 1995.
- Vigilant was launched on 10th October 1997 and commissioned in June 1998.
- Vengeance was launched on 21st September 2000 and commissioned in February 2001.
The photograph at the top of this article is in the Public Domain and shows HMS Trafalgar arriving in Florida.
