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CND in the News
CND in the News: 6-13 March 2006
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1 Inquiry into nuclear trains welcomed
Bromley Times, 8 March 2006
AN INVESTIGATION in to the safety of trains carrying nuclear fuel rods
across the borough will be launched this year amid terror threat fears.
A risk assessment on the trains and their route through Bromley will
be compiled this summer to ascertain if they represent a viable terrorist
target following last year's bombings, London Mayor Ken Livingstone confirmed
last week.
Darren Johnson, Green Party leader on the London Assembly, said he had
pushed for a risk assessment for the past five years, having chaired an
investigation into nuclear trains in 2001.
He said: "I am delighted that the Mayor is now going ahead with
this study. There is a serious terrorist threat in London and we cannot
afford to ignore the possibility of an attack on trains carrying nuclear
waste. We need this risk assessment to provide a hard-headed look at the
risks of an accident or an attack."
Answering a question from Mr Johnson last week, Mr Livingstone told the
Assembly: "I have appointed consultants to undertake an independent
risk assessment of trains carrying nuclear waste through London. This
will review the associated risks of routing trains carrying nuclear waste
through London, including identifying what alternative transport routes
could be used in order to reduce any identified risks. The study is due
to report in summer 2006."
Bromley CND's Anne Garrett told the Bromley Times: "It
is appalling that nuclear waste is transported through Bromley. It is
safer to go by sea if it has to be moved, but it is crazy taking it on
railways when some tracks are in such bad condition."
Spent nuclear fuel rods from Dungeness, Bradwell and Sizewell nuclear
power stations are transported by rail through 16 London boroughs on their
way to Sellafield in Cumbria to separate out plutonium for use in nuclear
warheads.
In Bromley they travel through several stations including Chislehurst,
Elmstead Wood and Grove Park. A spokesman for Bromley council confirmed
it had not been told when nuclear trains passed through the borough as
this was a matter for the Health and Safety Executive.
The London Assembly report 'Transportation of nuclear waste by train'
highlighted a number of major concerns, including the lack of proper emergency
training to deal with an incident, inadequate safety tests and the threat
from terrorist attacks.
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2 UK urged to scrap nuclear weapons
London, March 11, IRNA
lslamic
Republic News Agency
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) has renewed
its call on Britain to honour international obligations by scrapping its
nuclear weapons capability.
"Britain should be positioning itself as a global leader for peace
by ending its nuclear weapons program as required under the nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty instead of planning a new generation of nuclear weapons,"
CND chair Kate Hudson.
Hudson was speaking ahead of giving evidence next Tuesday to the first
inquiry by the parliamentary Defence Select Committee into the whether
Britain should replace its ageing submarine-based Trident nuclear weapons
deterrent. The inquiry is exploring the changing strategic context of
the threats against Britain, with further inquiries to follow later this
year.
"In the early 1980s when the British government decided to purchase
the Trident nuclear weapons system, Britain faced a perceived threat from
the nuclear-armed Soviet Union," Hudson said. But she added that
Britain is now on friendly terms with Russia and no longer faces a threat
from any nuclear-armed nation.
The British government has declared terrorism to be the biggest threat
facing the country but Prime Minister Tony Blair has admitted that nuclear
weapons are of no use against terrorism, the chair of the veteran peace
organization said. In a statement released Friday, she argued that the
world had seen in the past how courageous initiatives can lead to substantial
disarmament. "The international situation cries out for another such
initiative. A decision by Britain not to replace Trident would be such
a move," Hudson said. She said it would not only help to restore
confidence in the possibility of NPT compliance but would "demonstrate
that relations between nations, and resolution of their security concerns,
can be built in the framework of international law."
The British government is due to make a decision on whether to replace
its Trident nuclear weapons during the current parliament. It is reported
that Blair has already decided to buy a new generation from the US but
faces opposition from many MPs.
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3 Nuclear watchdog alarmed by Faslane danger
Sunday Hearld, 12 March 2006
http://www.sundayherald.com/54528
A SERIES of safety lapses at the Faslane nuclear submarine base on the
Clyde, including one in which workers were over-exposed to radiation from
a reactor, has worried government inspectors. Internal documents obtained
by the Sunday Herald reveal that the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate
has been concerned about poor supervision at the base and is monitoring
the situation.
The inspectorate’s governing body, the Health and Safety Executive,
has also expressed frustration at the failure of the Ministry of Defence
(MoD) to respond to repeated requests for information. Concern was sparked
by a hitherto unreported incident on 13 January last year, when workers
were called in to remove scaffolding from above a submarine reactor. They
were not told, however, that the reactor was “hot” as it had
been conducting high-power trials prior to sailing. As a result, four
workers were exposed to excess radiation beaming through the reactor casing.
Their plight was noticed by Faslane health monitors, who conducted a survey
which detected “a measurable dose” of radiation.
“This event seems to be the latest in a series of similar oversights
and omissions relating to the control of work within the Clyde naval base,”
a nuclear inspector told the base commander. In a file note, he added:
“My concern is that the interface between ships’ staff and
base staff does not seem to be effective. There is a fundamental issue
here.”
An investigation was launched by the MoD’s internal watchdog, the
Naval Nuclear Regulatory Panel. It is understood to have found that safety
guidelines were breached.
The MoD was accused of showing a “callous disregard for health and
safety” by John Ainslie, the co-ordinator of the Scottish
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. “They are willing to
put the health of sailors and civilian workers at risk in order to keep
Trident and other nuclear submarines at sea,” he claimed. Ainslie
pointed out that the legal powers of inspectors at military sites such
as Faslane were weaker than at civilian nuclear sites . “Next time
the consequences of a mistake could be far more serious,” he warned.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) confirmed details of the reactor
incident. But a spokesman pointed out that the radiation dose received
by the workers was less than 1% of the legal limit for a year. “HSE
is working closely with the Naval Nuclear Regulatory Panel in monitoring
improvements to the arrangements for control and supervision of work at
the Faslane site,” he said.
A spokesman for Faslane was unable to comment on the incident as it was
the subject of a request under the Freedom of Information Act. “We
take health and safety extremely seriously,” he said. “It’s
a number one priority.”
Some internal documents concerning the incident were released by the HSE
in response to the FoI request by the Sunday Herald. But the name of the
ship involved has been blacked out, making it impossible to know whether
it was a submarine carrying conventional wea pons or one carrying Trident
nuclear warheads. Both are powered by reactors.
Other documents were withheld because the MoD failed to give the HSE any
information on their national security status. One is the report of the
MoD’s official investigation into the reactor incident.
“The situation has been most frustrating,” an HSE official
told the Sunday Herald. “Despite numerous reminders, I have not
received any advice from the MoD.” The MoD, however, pointed out
that it was assessing the public interest, which involved consulting with
commercial companies. “The delays are very much regretted,”
said Gavin Findlay, Faslane’s head of corporate business support.
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