THE Ministry of Defence’s official line on an alleged radiation leak in Scotland “raises more questions than it answers”, an MP has claimed.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace responded to questions put by Alba MP Neale Hanvey after he grilled the minister on what a whistle-blower described as a “serious radiation breach” at Coulport, where Trident nuclear weapons are stored last year.
But the MoD have since claimed an evacuation which took place on November 7 was “pre-planned to enable an upgrade to the building’s facilities” and not a result of a nuclear leak.
It is understood the whistle-blower claimed radioactive material leaked from a weapon into the air, resulting in workers being evacuated from one building to another around two miles away.
In a letter to Hanvey, the Defence Secretary denied claims there had been any “serious radiation breaches” at Faslane or Coulport.
He wrote: “I can confirm that the alleged radiation incident referred to during [defence questions in the Commons did not occur. I would like to provide reassurance that the relocation of staff from building 201 at RNAD Coulport to building 41 was pre-planned to enable an upgrade to the building’s facilities.
“This planned upgrade has not affected operations within the site. I can also confirm that no serious radiation breaches have occurred at His Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde or RNAD Coulport.
“The site is compliant with applicable legislation for working safely with radiation and responding to potential radiation emergencies, including regulations for provision of information to the public when required.”
But Hanvey said the response was unsatisfactory and raised yet more questions about the alleged incident on November 7.
And he suggested the minister's response implied there was a "threshold" for reporting radiation leaks.
He told The National: “The response raises more questions than it answers.
“First, what was the pre-planned work that took place that required the re-location of staff? We now know that the re-location of staff took place we now need to know why and how was this communicated to the staff teams affected?
“Second, why was there no public announcement that staff had to be re-located?
“Third, the Defence Secretary has stated that ‘no serious radiation breaches occurred’ at HM Naval Base Clyde or RNAD Coulport.
“This suggests there were radiation breaches, but which fall below an unqualified ‘serious’ threshold.
“So what is that threshold, and what are the risks from a ‘non-serious’ breach?”
The MoD was approached for futher comment.
