Disposal of nuclear-powered submarines


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More than ten years after Project ISOLUS (Interim Storage of Laid-Up Submarines) was created to determine a strategy for the storage and disposal of submarine reactor compartments and associated hull structures, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has launched a public consultation exercise to present options for dismantling the growing number of retired Royal
Navy nuclear-powered submarines laid-up afloat.

The MoD says the submarines need to be dismantled as storage capacity will be exhausted by 2020, while the cost of maintaining the boats in a safe condition is growing as they age and increase in number.

Seventeen submarines are currently in afloat storage at Devonport naval base in southern England and Rosyth in Scotland, with a further six Trafalgar-class boats to be decommissioned over the next decade.

According to the MoD, the consultation "will seek the public's views on the proposals that have been developed by the MoD's Submarine Dismantling Project (SDP) for dismantling and disposing of the submarines in a safe, secure and environmentally responsible way".

It adds that views are being sought about three key decisions that need to be made: how the radioactive material is removed from the submarines, where the removal of the material takes place and which type of site is used to store the waste awaiting disposal.

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