Environmental and Public Health Risks from Radioactive Discharges into Loch Long

That the Parliament notes with concern the reported findings of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) regarding repeated leaks of radioactive waste water from the Coulport nuclear weapons facility into Loch Long in recent years; understands that SEPA attributes these incidents to shortfalls in maintenance and asset management, including the failure to replace ageing infrastructure, with up to half of the components at the base reportedly beyond their design life at the time of the leaks; acknowledges that there was a pipe burst in 2010, and that flooding in a nuclear weapons processing area in August 2019 led to the release of low levels of tritium, a radioactive substance used in warheads, into the marine environment; is aware that there were reportedly two further pipe bursts in 2021; considers that repeated failures to maintain equipment, including the “sub-optimal” plans to replace 1,500 old pipes, pose serious risks to environmental and public health; believes that the lack of transparency and accountability in managing these risks is unacceptable, and calls on the UK Government to ensure that robust safeguards are in place to protect communities and ecosystems; believes that the closure of this facility would be better still, and urges the UK Government to remove all nuclear weapons from Scotland at the earliest possible date.