Scottish CND     Safety of Trident

8. GEOGRAPHICAL ASSESSMENT

The transport of radioactive materials for Trident across Britain, the potential deployment of submarines around the Atlantic and the worldwide effects of the Chernobyl disaster all suggest that the hazards of the Trident programme are very far reaching. The dangers are everywhere, but are particularly great in a few key areas.

The most dangerous stage in the handling of nuclear weapons is their final assembly at Burghfield. Tritium replacement in the RBPB at Coulport is also hazardous. During the transport of nuclear weapons the chance of a release of radioactive material may be less, but the consequences could be greater if the accident occurred in a built up area.

The chance of a missile handling accident is probably greatest during missile test firing in the US Eastern Test Range and during missile loading at Kings Bay. The dangers of a reactor incident are particularly high during defuelling which will be carried out at Devonport, within a major built up area.

The conditions for a worst case accident involving both the nuclear reactor, missiles and nuclear warheads exist while Trident submarines are fully operational. During trials and patrols the submarines will operate in the North Atlantic and other areas. Submarine movements are most frequent in the Clyde estuary. There are also significant movements in the North of the Irish Sea and along the West coast of Scotland, especially in the Inner Sound.

The dangers inherent in the Faslane shiplift and in warhead loading procedures at the EHJ at Coulport suggest that there is a particular risk of a combined reactor - missile - nuclear warhead accident at these two locations. The range of other tasks carried out at Faslane and Coulport and the total length of time which vessels would spend there increases the possibility of an accident in Gareloch or Loch Long.

Particular types of accident present a high risk to Burghfield, Devonport and Kings Bay. The greatest risk is at Faslane, Coulport and the Clyde estuary due to the frequency of Trident submarine operations and the possibility of an accident involving nuclear weapons, missiles and/or the nuclear reactor.

Scottish CND     Safety of Trident