A Wirral site has been selected to store nuclear waste from decommissioned submarines. After being shortlisted the Ministry of Defence says now Capenhurst Nuclear Services (CNS) will be used for the storage project. It will hold steel Reactor Pressure Vessels (RPVs) from 27 defuelled nuclear submarines after they have left the Royal Navy’s service. The announcement was made in a written ministerial statement to Parliament by Minister of State for Defence Procurement Philip Dunne MP. The decision follows a site selection process conducted by the MOD over the past two years including a formal 12-week consultation with the community around Capenhurst between November 2014 and February 2015.
Liverpool Echo 9th July 2016 read more »
BBC 8th July 2016 read more »
Radioactive fuel cells on a dozen disused nuclear submarines languishing in Plymouth are to be removed and taken to a site in the North of England for storage and eventual disposal. The Ministry of Defence yesterday revealed the fate of the boats which are currently stationed at Devonport but said no date has yet been fixed for the process to begin Defence Minister Philip Dunne said the highly toxic part of the decommissioned submarines would be removed at a date to be set.
Plymouth Herald 8th July 2016 read more »
The Ministry of Defence has ruled out a Scottish site as a possible location to store waste from nuclear submarines. Chapelcross near Annan was on a shortlist of five potential locations. Capenhurst in Cheshire has been selected to store the nuclear components, with Aldermaston in Berkshire as a “fall back” option. The Scottish site was ruled out along with Sellafield in West Cumbria and Burghfield in Berkshire following public consultation. Chapelcross was home to Scotland’s first commercial nuclear station, which was built on old airfield in Dumfriesshire. The site ceased generation in 2004. The nuclear components are from 18 redundant submarines and nine still in service. The redundant Royal Navy submarines are currently stored afloat at Devonport in Plymouth and Rosyth in Fife, but cannot be dismantled until the reactor components have been removed.
BBC 8th July 2016 read more »
ITV 8th July 2016 read more »