AWE Aldermaston warned after ‘radioactive’ leak into stream

It emerged yesterday (Sunday) that AWE received a formal warning letter and enforcement notice by the Environment Agency (EA) back in August, after increases in levels of tritium – a radioactive form of hydrogen – were found in the Aldermaston Stream.
The warning letter was sent after investigations were conducted to establish why unusual levels of tritium had been detected in the North Ponds drainage system at AWE Aldermaston, where the UK's nuclear weapons are manufactured and maintained.
The North Ponds discharge effluent into the Aldermaston Stream, which flows through Aldermaston village into the River Kennet and eventually into the River Thames.
Studies by AWE established that the tritium increase had been caused by a ventilation fan being switched off during modification works in a radioactive waste store at the Aldermaston site. Tritium discharged from the waste store then accumulated on the roof, before being washed by rainfall into surface water drains, rather than being dispersed into the atmosphere.
The EA concluded that although the increased levels of tritium discharged were not an environmental hazard, AWE had failed to adequately assess the impact of the modification works on the environment and the decision to switch off the fan had exposed a number of failures in AWE's management systems
Peter Burt, Director of Nuclear Information Service NIS) said: “This is the second case within twelve months where a government agency has had to take enforcement action against AWE because of failures in management arrangements.
“AWE puts a lot of effort into creating the image that it is a super-efficient company that doesn't make mistakes, but regularly occurring problems at Aldermaston show that things can and do go wrong
“News of this incident has only leaked out months after the event itself and AWE did nothing to inform local members of the public about the matter. The company should be more honest about its safety and environmental performance and must keep local communities informed about incidents that take place at its sites”.