MoD does not answer to public on nuke leaks

The UK Faslane Trident submarine nuclear base is under fire by public and environmental groups after Channel 4 news discovered radioactive leaks and other potentially hazardous procedures were happening there.

Poor maintenance produced speculation that the Trident base should be closed down, but local authorities do not have the power do so because the Ministry of Defence has immunity.

This has caused a public outcry and demands that when it comes to poorly conducted nuclear research, the MoD should not be above the law and should be held as accountable as any private sector nuclear power plant.

The MoD released a statement that claimed there are no environmental ramifications of the practices that are followed at the Trident base and that civil nuclear safety rules do not apply to bases that are operated by the MoD.

Thus, while actions and procedures may be against regulation in the private sector, on a MoD site the same level of safety protocol does not have to be followed.

The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency countered the response by stating that the discoveries are not small matters, but rather large nuclear safety problems and need to be addressed immediately.

According to documents that were kept hidden by the MoD until the present, the leaks have been happening in Gare Loch for the last six years.