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NIS Annual Report 2008

The spotlight has been on AWE Burghfield this year. Burghfield is situated between Aldermaston and the conurbation of Reading, and its location in the floodplain of the Kennet Valley accounted for the flooding there in July 2007. The event was played down by AWE but NIS’s report “Swamped”, records just how serious it really was. The report was taken up by Channel 4 News in October and subsequently by local, regional and other national media.
-- from Chair's report.

Credit crunch cash shortage raises doubts over new nuclear weapons

Cash shortages caused by the credit crunch will force the next government to choose between replacing the Trident nuclear weapons system and meeting flagship goals to halve child poverty, raise the state pension in line with earnings, and keep education spending growing, according to a report on the affordability of Britain's nuclear weapons published today by the Nuclear Information Service (NIS).

APPEAL REFUSED ON TRIDENT

JUDICIAL REVIEW OF THE GOVERNMENT'S DECISION TO RENEW THE TRIDENT NUCLEAR WEAPONS SYSTEM

In the High Court on 26th January, Lord Justice Scott Baker refused NIS permission to appeal Mr. Justice Simon’s decision of 10th June 2008 not to grant permission to claim Judicial Review of the Government’s 2006 Defence White Paper and its decision to renew the Trident nuclear weapons system. The question of Consultation was not pursued.

Emergency Planning for Climate Change

This Civil Contingencies (CC) Conference was organised by the Public Policy Exchange, in association with the Centre for Parliamentary Studies to facilitate policy discussion, debate and networking. It was attended by 25 delegates from the Maritime & Coastguard Agency, Army, Navy, local Emergency Planning Officers (EPOs), Fire Services,the Scottish Executive, Academics a journalist and NIS (also representing NAG, Plymouth Peace Group and SCANS).

NIS technical briefing note: JSP 538 – Regulation of the Nuclear Weapons Programme

‘Joint Services Publication 538: Regulation of the Nuclear Weapon Programme’ (JSP 538) is the definitive Ministry of Defence guidance document on nuclear and radiological safety requirements within the UK nuclear weapons programme. A redacted copy of the full 522 page document was placed in the House of Commons Library in May 2008 in response to a Parliamentary Question1. This NIS technical briefing provides a brief summary of its contents and a commentary on some salient points.

Briefing Note: AWE Burghfield safety, April 2008

At last the MoD Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator (DNSR) has heeded the repeated warnings of the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate(NII) to stop live nuclear work being carried out at the assembly/disassembly plant at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Burghfield until safety standards are improved. The October to December 2007 NII Quarterly report on AWE finds some improvements in safety at the Aldermaston and nearby Burghfield site, but some serious problems remain.The NII is not satisfied that the risk of an accident is ‘As Low As Reasonably Practicable’ (ALARP) in a quarter of the inspection targets, including the aging ‘gravel gertie’ dis/assembly facilities where Fissile and High Explosive components are combined in Trident warheads.

NIS Technical Briefing Note August 2007

On 10th May 2007 the Ministry of Defence provided copies of twelve documents relating to plans to replace the vehicles used to transport nuclear material by road to Caroline Lucas MEP in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act.