Nuclear facility leak discharges tritium into Loch Long.
Radioactive water from the Royal Navy’s Coulport armaments depot has leaked into Loch Long, the same site earmarked for Scotland’s first semi-closed containment salmon farm.
Files released after a six-year freedom of information battle show that old pipes at the depot repeatedly burst, discharging tritium – a radioactive isotope used in nuclear warheads – into the loch. The depot stores the UK’s nuclear warhead stockpile for the Trident submarine fleet based at nearby Faslane.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) said its assessments concluded the risk to the environment from effluent discharges was “of no regulatory concern.” The Ministry of Defence (MoD) stated there had been “no unsafe releases of radioactive material.”
The incident comes after years of regulatory scrutiny over Loch Long Salmon’s proposed semi-closed containment facility, designed to reduce sea lice infestation and prevent escapes by filtering and containing water. The company’s application has faced repeated delays and local opposition, with environmental impacts under intense examination.
Maintenance failures
According to the files, SEPA found that the navy had failed to properly maintain a network of 1,500 water pipes at Coulport. A pipe burst in August 2019 resulted in “unnecessary radioactive waste” entering the loch.
The documents were released after Scottish information commissioner David Hamilton ruled that withholding them primarily protected “reputations” rather than national security.
Industry implications
While regulators have downplayed the environmental impact, the revelation is likely to reignite debate over the relative risks posed by aquaculture compared to other activities on Scotland’s lochs.
The Loch Long debacle: Why the UK hates risk but loves failure
Industry stakeholders have long argued that closed and semi-closed containment systems could mitigate environmental concerns that have stalled expansion. However, proponents now say the focus on aquaculture impacts in Loch Long may need to be considered alongside the presence of nuclear infrastructure.
Loch Long Salmon has maintained that its technology would have “no adverse effect” on the local ecosystem, citing its sealed-system design. The company has not yet commented on the radioactive leak.
