HMNB Clyde Application Consultation

We consulted on an application received from the Ministry of Defence regarding HMNB Clyde and radioactive substances. The consultation ran between the January and March 2020 and provided the opportunity to comment on proposed changes to existing agreements that cover the disposal of radioactive waste from both Coulport and Faslane.

HMNB Clyde applied for substantial reductions in the amount of radioactivity it could discharge to the environment.  For liquid releases this included a 95% reduction in Co-60, a 50% reduction in H-3, a 97.5% reduction in alpha emitting radionuclides and 80% reduction in non-alpha (previously reported as gross beta).  We asked your views on whether SEPA should approve that application and whether we should introduce the same provisions to the MoD’s agreement to be consistent with other civilian sites in Scotland.

In total, we received over 7000 consultation responses. A large number of the responses related to issues which were out with our regulatory control.  Overall, there was no objection to the proposal to reduce the amount of radioactivity that could be released to the environment. A summary of feedback is available in our Consultation Response Digest Report. 

We have taken on board your comments and feedback and made some changes to the proposals. More information on the responses we received and what we have done in response is outlined in the Decision Document.