Nuclear safety scandal

15/1/99 Insulating material in roof found to be compressed straw and paper.

JL: A very high fire risk in a nuclear materials area.

24/12/98 Nine facilities over Christmas allowed regulatory stack filters to exceed deployment times.

JL: This may have had an environmental discharge im-pact, that if the filters 'blocked', then radioactive particulate matter could have escaped into the atmosphere - really poor and ill-disciplined maintenance management.

9/2/99 Employee entered exclusion area without appropriate protection.

JL: Probably not wearing respiratory protection, but this incident defined by AWE as not reportable, whereas it would be reportable at any other nuclear installation.

3/3/99 Ongoing defects found with pressurised air suits after operations in radioactive areas.

JL: These suits are the first (and last) line of protection for personnel in contaminated areas - strange that defects are ongoing.

3/3/99 Unexpected contents found in an explosive container, resulting in the area being evacuated.

JL: Astonishing!

22/3/99 All fire fighting pumping appliances at Alder maston unfit for service.

JL: Incredible - setting aside its nuclear weapons function, the industrial and radio-chemical processes undertaken at Aldermaston are hazardous and risky.

27/4/99 Surge protectors (part of lightning protection system) found to have been locked off and fuses removed.

JL: A fully assembled nuclear weapon is susceptible to risk of electro-magnetic surges (from lightning) which could, conceivably, trigger the conventional high-explosive charges that initiate the nuclear sequence.

19/5/99 Power failure offsite caused widespread disruption to electrical supplies on site.

JL: This could be extremely serious, because a number of processes require continuous power to maintain stability and/or safety - this is quite astonishing for such a hazardous plant. What will happen at Y2K when it is believed the National Grid will be very susceptible to blackouts?

14/5/99 Electrical power failure resulted in loss of emergency phone extensions.

JL: Again, astonishingly, suggests that this high-tech and hazardous plant cannot survive a power blackout unscathed - a power blackout is the time when emergency phones will most likely be required.

1/9/99 Non-routine groundwater samples indicate HEU contamination on Blacks land adjacent to A18 manhole.

JL: I cannot recall this being publicly reported.