(December 13, 1996) The UK High Court decided on November 26 to fine the Department of Defence's Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston six million pounds after it contaminated the land of Blue Circle Industries in 1989 with plutonium and uranium. Aldermaston is producing the Trident missile nuclear warheads, among others.
(463.4607) WISE-Amsterdam -Contamination was caused during a heavy rainfall on July 6, 1989. Ponds on the AWE Aldermaston site overflowed into a small stream, which flooded into a marshland and a lake on the 137-acre Aldermaston Court Estate. This contained a Victorian manor house used as a hotel and a modern office block. The AWE staff checked the area shortly after the storm and discovered plutonium contamination, but did not tell the owners. The High Court found this was in contravention of the Nuclear Installation Act of 1965. Furthermore, the AWE management deliberately withheld the information, although there was pressure to disclose the contamination.
Blue Circle was in the process of selling the estate when the contamination became known. Then the sale collapsed. Blue Circle sued the Ministry of Defence.
For over 40 years, the dirty, decrepit and dangerous site at Aldermaston had been polluting the environment. The Blue Circle contamination incident is one in a long line of fires, explosions, leaks and spillages involving radioactive and toxic material. The site is heavily contaminated with some of the most dangerous substances known to humanity; some of the buildings are in a dilapidated condition and it is high time these were brought to account for past accidents and incidents.
In 1994, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) issued a highly critical report that included 65 recommendations that required immediate action by the AWE. The HSE report concluded: "Taken as a whole, health and safety standards at AWE sites did not match those found elsewhere in the nuclear or other high hazard industries."
Source:
- CND press release, 26 November 1996
- Guardian (UK), 27 November 1996
Contact: William Peden at Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). 162 Holloway Road, London N7 8DQ, UK.
Tel: +44-171 700 2393;
Fax: +44-171 700 2357