NUCLEAR FUEL TRANSPORT ACCIDENT

"The incident - serious enough to be reported to
the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate -
was kept from local people, local MPs and the media
until the story leaked out on Tuesday night."

NUCLEAR TRAIN DERAILMENT INVESTIGATED
These exclusive pictures show the extent of the derailment of a locomotive carrying highly radioactive fuel in Devonport Dockyard early on Monday evening, writes Defence Reporter James Garnett. As reported in the Herald yesterday, a diesel locomotive carrying spent nuclear fuel rods was partially derailed close to the dockyard's fuel repackaging plant in the north end of the yard, nearest to Camel's Head gate.

NUCLEAR SAFETY IS A MATTER OF TRUST
Maintaining a large nuclear complex in the centre of a city with almost 250,000 residents is clearly a cause for concern. That doesn't necessarily mean the complex should close - but it does put those who operate it under a big obligation to keep the people, who are potentially at risk from any kind of accident, fully informed when things go wrong. That clearly failed to happen on Monday night, when a train carrying nuclear waste was derailed inside the Royal Naval Dockyard at Devonport. The incident - serious enough to be reported to the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate - was kept from local people, local MPs and the media until the story leaked out on Tuesday night.

NUCLEAR TRAIN DERAILS AT YARD
A train carrying radioactive fuel has derailed at Devonport Dockyard. DML confirmed a diesel locomotive pulling a single, earthquake-proof carriage containing spent nuclear fuel partially derailed in the dockyard early on Monday evening while travelling between 1-2mph.

NUCLEAR WASTE TRAIN DERAILS
Mps last night condemned the handling of a nuclear waste train derailment in Plymouth - and called for the results of an investigation to be made public.

 

 

NUCLEAR TRAIN DERAILMENT INVESTIGATED


12:00 - 17 June 2004

These exclusive pictures show the extent of the derailment of a locomotive carrying highly radioactive fuel in Devonport Dockyard early on Monday evening, writes Defence Reporter James Garnett. As reported in the Herald yesterday, a diesel locomotive carrying spent nuclear fuel rods was partially derailed close to the dockyard's fuel repackaging plant in the north end of the yard, nearest to Camel's Head gate.

The used fuel came from the HMS Talent submarine, which is in refit in 14 Dock. The fuel was encased in a small container set within a 20ft-high 'earthquake-proof' steel cage mounted on a single carriage.

The carriage was being towed through a small point junction at 1-2mph when the accident happened.

Officials at DML and the MoD have stressed that at no time was the fuel cage unstable and that there was no risk to people inside or outside the base.

The exact amount of spent fuel being transported is classified, although a dockyard insider has told the Herald that only a 'small percentage' of HMS Talent's fuel store was on board the carriage.

The cause of the incident is under investigation by DML, the MoD and the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, and the results, which are expected in the next few weeks, will be made public.

The Herald understands that two possible theories being considered by investigators include heat damage to the rails, caused by the recent hot weather, and wear and tear on the rails or the locomotive's wheels

 

NUCLEAR SAFETY IS A MATTER OF TRUST
11:00 - 17 June 2004

Maintaining a large nuclear complex in the centre of a city with almost 250,000 residents is clearly a cause for concern. That doesn't necessarily mean the complex should close - but it does put those who operate it under a big obligation to keep the people, who are potentially at risk from any kind of accident, fully informed when things go wrong. That clearly failed to happen on Monday night, when a train carrying nuclear waste was derailed inside the Royal Naval Dockyard at Devonport. The incident - serious enough to be reported to the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate - was kept from local people, local MPs and the media until the story leaked out on Tuesday night.

It was not, the Western Morning News was relieved to be able to report yesterday, a serious incident. So far as it is possible to tell, no nuclear material was spilt. The locomotive, rather than the trailer carrying radioactive waste, was derailed and the train was travelling at only around 5mph when the accident happened. "There is a full investigation into how it happened underway," a spokesman for DML, the privatised dockyard management company, told the WMN on Tuesday. That's welcome.

It would be quite wrong to overplay this incident in any way, or to spread alarm among the 25,000 or so people who live in the immediate vicinity of the dockyard, on both sides of the river Tamar.

Equally, such a derailment cannot be ignored, when nuclear waste is involved in such a built-up area. That's why local MPs, including Conservative Gary Streeter and Lib-Dem Colin Breed are right to criticise the way information about the incident was handled.

As Mr Streeter, MP for South West Devon, said: "When we have a dockyard in the middle of a huge residential area, total transparency is necessary." That rule - that it's best to be open if you want to maintain public confidence - is too often ignored by those with responsibilities for potentially hazardous installations. Invariably, the impact of trying to keep things quiet makes things many times worse when the truth eventually emerges.

There is a long-running and legitimate debate about whether or not it is appropriate to maintain a major nuclear presence in the centre of a city like Plymouth. But the dockyard is where it is for historical reasons and the value that it has brought to the city over the years cannot be denied.

That, however, does not mean that anyone who raises fears about the nuclear risks should be silenced and the hazards underplayed. It is not fair to accuse those who question Devonport Dockyard's nuclear role of being prepared to see Plymouth's economy wither and die.

That said, one incident of this sort in which no real damage was done does not mean the "nukes-out" protesters are right. But failing to announce that such an incident has taken place, and failing to reassure people at the time that everything was properly handled, does play into the protesters hands. Whatever the Dockyard managers say, the significance of this incident will have been heightened in the minds of the anti-nuclear protesters precisely because it was kept quiet. "What have they got to hide?" the conspiracy theorists will be asking.

The truth is, almost certainly nothing. But the Royal Navy and DML need to be constantly working on their public relations message in circumstances such as this, where fears about everything from a radiation leak to a terrorist attack can grow out of control all too easily.

The means by which any potential nuclear incident is dealt with - from simply informing the public to organising a full-scale evacuation - must be seen by all to be properly in place, if confidence in what is an inherently risky situation is to be maintained. That ought to include a whiter-than-white attitude to information and releasing it as quickly as possible, if only to reassure those in the front line.

Devonport Dockyard has given an enormous amount to the people of Plymouth and South East Cornwall over the years - but equally the people have given a great deal to the dockyard. For the sake of retaining and even enhancing that relationship, trust must be maintained and nothing threatens trust more than secrecy.

Minor as the incident itself may well turn out to have been, there is a lesson that can be learned from the derailment of this nuclear waste train.

 

 

NUCLEAR TRAIN DERAILS AT YARD
HANNAH WOOD 12:00 - 16 June 2004

A train carrying radioactive fuel has derailed at Devonport Dockyard. DML confirmed a diesel locomotive pulling a single, earthquake-proof carriage containing spent nuclear fuel partially derailed in the dockyard early on Monday evening while travelling between 1-2mph.

The spent fuel was classified as 'highly radioactive'. It was being carried away from a nuclear submarine to a fuel repackaging plant in the dockyard, where it is prepared for onward transportation to Sellafield reprocessing plant in Cumbria.

The incident was unprecedented and the Health and Safety Executive immediately launched an investigation.

A spokesman for DML, which was transporting the fuel, said: "The shunter unit pulling the fuel was travelling very slowly and at no point was anyone inside or outside the dockyard in danger. At no time did the carriage carrying the used fuel container come off the track."

It is understood the train was going round a curved section of track at the time of the accident.

The spokesman said: "As is usual procedure we have launched a full investigation into the reasons why this happened and will keep the public fully informed."

Gary Streeter, Conservative MP for South West Devon, said the MoD should have made the incident public sooner, and Colin Breed, South East Cornwall Liberal Democrat MP, called for the results of the investigation to be made public.

David Jamieson, Labour MP for Devonport, said: "DML need to change procedure urgently if needs be. People also need to be reassured of their safety."

Responding to MPs anger that the public were not informed of the accident immediately a spokesperson for the MoD this morning said: "We have been kept fully informed by DML and are satisfied that at no time was there any hazard to anyone on site or to members of the public.

"This is a matter for DML and their independent regulators and will be subject to a full investigation."

The 'shunter' locomotive that derailed was one of two used by DML to transport radioactive material, including new and spent nuclear fuel, over short distances inside the naval base. Its top speed is 5mph.

Plymouth City Council were informed, said DML

 

NUCLEAR WASTE TRAIN DERAILS
11:00 - 16 June 2004

Mps last night condemned the handling of a nuclear waste train derailment in Plymouth - and called for the results of an investigation to be made public.

The train, carrying radioactive waste, derailed at Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth on Monday night and an investigation into the cause of the incident has now been launched.

The diesel locomotive was travelling at five miles an hour through the submarine section of the dockyard, when part of it came off the tracks.

A spokesman for Devonport Management Limited (DML), which runs the yard, last night said there was no risk to workers or the public, adding that it was the locomotive that had derailed and not the trailer on which the radioactive waste was being transported. But local MPs were furious that the public was not informed of the incident until a news report last night - a full 24 hours after the accident occurred.

Gary Streeter, Conservative MP for South West Devon, said: "They should have informed local Members of Parliament, which they have not. On balance, that's not the way to handle it. When we have a dockyard in the middle of a huge residential area, total transparency is necessary. It goes to show that we cannot be too careful with moving nuclear fuel or any toxic material."

Colin Breed, the Liberal Democrat MP for South East Cornwall, called for the results of the investigation to be made public.

He said: "The handling of the announcement has been poor. There should be an investigation and the results should be made public.

"I know there was no hazard to people inside or outside the dockyard, but we need to have that confidence."

DML said the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate had been informed.

"The train was moving stuff around the dockyard at less than five miles an hour. There is a full investigation into how it happened underway," said a spokesman. There are around 25,000 people living within the immediate vicinity of the dockyard, on both sides of the Tamar Bridge.

Barbara Merriot, of the Campaign Against Nuclear Storage And Radiation (Cansar), said the derailment was "extremely worrying".

She said: "It had the potential to be an extremely dangerous accident. It is very worrying for people living around the area and further afield. It confirms what we have been trying to tell Plymouth for years - that there is a potential for a huge disaster. Having a nuclear complex in the middle of a city is too dangerous."

Residents within two kilometres of the dockyard were once given potassium iodate tablets to protect them from the effects of radiation.

But in April they were asked to dispose of them by health chiefs, who brought in a "tried and tested" emergency system for handing out the tablets to householders immediately after a radiation incident.

kdawson@westernmorningnews.co.uk