THE Atomic Weapons Establishment facilities in Aldermaston and Burghfield are being considered as possible sites for storing radioactive waste by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), reports in a Scottish newspaper claim.
The two West Berkshire sites are claimed to be on a list of 12 locations, which also includes naval bases and other civil nuclear facilities.
The dangerous waste will come from the dismantling of 15 of the Royal Navy’s now defunct nuclear submarines.
The MoD has admitted a list of possible sites has been drawn up but said no decision had yet been made on where the dismantling of the subs or the siting of the waste would be.
Each submarine has a reactor compartment, about the size of two double-decker buses, which is contaminated with radioactivity.
A spokesman for the MoD told newburytoday.co.uk: “The MoD has identified a provisional list of sites that could be used for the dismantling and storage of the UK’s redundant defuelled nuclear submarines.
“No decisions on siting have yet been taken for either submarine dismantling or waste storage. Our primary aim of the project is to develop a safe method for dismantling submarines.
“We will not compromise the safety of either workers or the general public to do this.
“We will consult widely on the location. As part of this process we have invited MPs and local authorities from the area of each candidate site to take part in a meeting for that site, where we will explain our plans and seek their views.”
AWE said it could not comment on the issue.
Peter Burt, director of the Reading-based Nuclear Information Service, said: “There has always been public concern about safety and environmental issues at AWE, and radioactive waste, because of its toxicity and the long timescales for which it remains active, is a particularly controversial issue.
“Even the most enthusiastic supporter of nuclear weapons is likely to have concerns about transporting large quantities of radioactive waste across the country and dumping them on local communities here in Berkshire.”