By The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has strenuously denied that there have been any leaks from the seven decommissioned submarines based at Rosyth and says that no threat is posed to the area from intermediate level radioactive waste (ILW).
It has been claimed by SNP councillors Bill Walker and Ian Chisholm that radioactive waste may be completely removed from the west Fife site by 2015.
There are seven decommissioned subs at Rosyth, including the Polaris vessels Revenge, Resolution, Renown and Repulse.
All of the subs have had their highly toxic fuel removed, but parts of the vessels, including the reactor compartments, are still contaminated.
The Courier previously revealed that two of the subs sprang leaks in their outer hulls, but these were later plugged.
It’s believed that it costs the MoD around £1 million to store the vessels at Rosyth.
The MoD states that no decision has been made about where ILW arising from dismantled submarines will be stored and that it is still “considering” sites that are potential candidates for the initial stages of submarine dismantling, for which Rosyth has been identified as a potential location.
The MoD also denied that the ILW poses any threat to Rosyth and its surrounding area.
A spokesman said, “There are well-established methods for storing ILW in a safe and secure manner.
“As for all nuclear-related activities that the MoD undertakes, the management of ILW would be strictly regulated by the defence nuclear safety regulator, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and either the Environment Agency (EA) or the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).”
He continued, “There have been no nuclear or radiological incidents related to the nuclear submarines stored afloat at either Rosyth or Plymouth.
“Furthermore, the EA and SEPA set strict limits for radioactive discharges from all nuclear-related activities at the sites, and we consistently operate significantly below those limits.”
The spokesman said that potential candidate sites for the storage of radioactive waste have not been identified at this stage.
This was due to the developing nature of the national strategy.
“The secretary of state for defence has confirmed in parliament that submarine dismantling activities will not be undertaken before an ILW storage solution has been established,” he added.
“Whichever site is selected for interim ILW storage, it will be strictly controlled in accordance with the relevant safety legislation and regulations.
“Rosyth has existing facilities and processes for the storage and management of ILW, which meet all the requirements currently placed on them.
“As the MoD has not yet conducted site-specific assessment of interim ILW storage sites, it is too early to say whether these would be suitable for storing ILW from submarine dismantling,” the spokesman concluded.