A recent parliamentary question has provided detailed insights into the number of nuclear site events at Coulport and Faslane, home of the nuclear submarine fleet, over the past year.
Of the total 180 events reported across both locations and years, all were managed safely without any significant radiological or health impact.
The response offered by the Ministry of Defence categorises these events by severity.
Deidre Brock, MP for Edinburgh North and Leith and member of the Scottish National Party, inquired on 12th April 2024 about the number of nuclear site events at Coulport and Faslane bases in the last 12 months. James Cartlidge, Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence, responded with detailed figures on 22nd April 2024, providing a breakdown of incidents according to a categorisation system established in 2015.
The answer came to light via the following response to a Parliamentary Written Question.
Deidre Brock MP (Scottish National Party – Edinburgh North and Leith):
“To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many nuclear site events there were at (a) Coulport and (b) Faslane in the last 12 months.”
James Cartlidge MP (Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)) responded:
“The table below provides the number of Nuclear Site Event Reports (NSERs) at Coulport and Faslane recorded between January 2023 to April 2024. These are shown according to their categorisation using criteria agreed locally in 2015.”
| Location | Category A | Category B | Category C | Category D | Below Scale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coulport (2023) | 0 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 6 |
| Faslane (2023) | 1 | 4 | 12 | 37 | 77 |
| Coulport (2024) | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 0 |
| Faslane (2024) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
“NSERs are raised to foster a robust safety culture that learns from experience, whether that is equipment failures, human error, procedural failings, documentation shortcoming or near-misses. The safety significance of all reported events remains low and are below Level 1, the lowest of the seven-point Internal Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES). None of the events caused harm to the health of any member of staff on the Naval Base or to any member of the public or have resulted in any radiological impact to the environment.”
Most events are categorised as minor and without any significant health or environmental impact.
Of course it’s a SNP who asked the question if they had their way they would be kicked out of Scotland but they’ll be grateful that Scotland comes under the UKs nuclear deterrent umbrella especially now the way thinks are going in the world, as long as a Vanguard stays at sea and as long as some Astutes are at sea protecting the UK waters from possible attacks from Russia, Iran and every other country that doesn’t believe in democracy. Before anyone says it Russians democracy is just communism in a different outfit.