One concern about nuclear weapons does not get a lot of press. Nuclear weapons have to be transported around countries that possess nuclear arsenals. The convoy of trucks that moves nuclear weapons around are vulnerable to highway accidents and tempting targets for terrorists. There is currently a debate over security of nuclear weapons transportation in Scotland.
The United Kingdom transports nuclear weapons across Scotland at least eight times a year from the nuclear weapons factory at Aldermaston and Burghfield in Berkshire to the Royal Naval Armaments Depot at Coulport, northwest of Glasgow. The routes pass through fifteen local jurisdictions. Claims are being made that none of them have studied the potential for problems with such shipment nor have any of them warned communities along the route about the potential dangers.
Nukewatch UK monitors the convoys that carry the nuclear weapons. They have just produced a report titled Unready Scotland. In the report, they accuse the local councils along the route of failing to carry out their obligations under the 2004 Civil Contingencies Scotland Act. This law requires the local councils to carry out risk assessment studies to identify threats to public safety and then warn the public of the dangers that are found. Nukewatch UK also said the report that Scottish members of Parliament did not provide any assistance in the study. The conclusion of the report says “Local authorities are failing in their duties under the Act in respect of nuclear weapon convoys and the Scottish Government is in turn failing to ensure compliance.”
In case there was an accident on one of the convoys, the U.K. Ministry of Defense would have responsibility to deal with the immediate impact at the site of the accident. The Scottish government would have the responsibility of dealing with the repercussions of the accident away from the exact site of the accident. The Nukewatch UK report says that Scottish ministers are “wholly unprepared to discharge that responsibility.”
The convoys move their dangerous cargo hundreds of miles through dense urban areas in Scotland but even the police officers along the way do not know about the convoys and their cargo. The Nuclear UK report says “We have now reached the point where concerns about the public safety implications of the UK’s transport of nuclear warheads across Scotland can no longer be waved away. The MoD seems to be more ready to acknowledge the risks of this transport than are the civil authorities in Scotland. The MoD seems to be more ready to acknowledge the risks of this transport than are the civil authorities in Scotland. Oversight of the effectiveness of the civil authority response rests squarely with the Scottish Government and a thorough review of that response is urgently required.”
The Scottish Green Party has commented that “there is a huge and critical gap in our emergency planning and that action was essential to rebuild public trust. It was disturbing that councils had not examined bomb convoy risks. Councils have not assessed the impact of a release of radioactive material from these convoys yet they have assessed the risk from incidents such as flooding and explosions at industrial sites.”
Representatives for local Scottish councils reject the accusation that they are not prepared for accidents involving such convoys. They claim that they have assessed the risks of accidents involving hazardous materials shipment and necessary precautions and warnings. They also say that primary responsibility for dealing with any accidents involving the convoys lies with the MoD has the primary responsibility.
The MoD claims that the Nuclear UK report is “highly speculative and scaremongering.” They say that “Public safety is our absolute priority and robust arrangements are in place to ensure the safety and security of all these convoys. There has never been an incident posing a radiation hazard.”
It is fortunate that concerns about local and national government readiness to deal with any accidents of nuclear weapons convoys in Scotland are being debated. It appears that there is a serious disagreement about such readiness and it needs to be addressed to find the actual truth of the matter.
