Hi ,

Last month, we told you about our successful long-running battle to unearth secret files about radioactivity problems at Scottish nuclear bomb sites. 

After years of campaigning, Scotland's information commissioner forced the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) to reveal the withheld information. Now they have. 

The documents revealed that Loch Long on the Clyde has been contaminated by radioactive waste from the UK’s nuclear bomb store. Radioactive water drained into the loch, which is popular with swimmers, divers, kayakers and fishers, after a major flood in 2019.

According to Sepa, the pollution happened because the Royal Navy failed to properly maintain a network of 1,500 pipes at the Royal Naval Armaments Depot at Coulport.

This shocking revelation was made possible thanks to the tenacity of Rob Edwards, our reporter and the support from you, our readers. Without your backing, this story would have been kept under wraps. You can read the full investigation by tapping on the link below. 

Yours,

Ali

Story of the week

An in-depth look at a Ferret investigation

Loch Long on the Clyde has been contaminated by radioactive waste from the UK’s nuclear bomb store where old water pipes have repeatedly burst and caused floods, files released after a six-year secrecy battle reveal.

Internal documents obtained by The Ferret from the Scottish Government’s environmental watchdog disclose that radioactive water drained into the loch, which is popular with swimmers, divers, kayakers and fishers, after a major flood in 2019.

According to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa), the pollution happened because the Royal Navy failed to properly maintain a network of 1,500 pipes at the Royal Naval Armaments Depot at Coulport on Loch Long in Argyll.

The flooding was caused by “shortfalls in maintenance” and resulted in “unnecessary radioactive waste”, Sepa said. Plans to replace the ageing pipes at risk of failing and spreading radioactivity were “sub-optimal”, it warned. 

What did we dig up this week?

A round up of our investigations in the last seven days

Arms lobby group urged UK and Scottish Governments to crack down on Palestine Action

An arms lobby group urged the UK and Scottish Governments to crack down on Palestine Action more than a month before the group was proscribed, documents reveal.

Scottish Government gave £77m to secretive tax haven firms

A company controlled by Rupert Murdoch and a US military aircraft producer are among the tax haven firms given £77m by the Scottish Government.

Question of the week

Should the Scottish Government be funding tax haven firms?

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Any comments? Have you seen something we could include? Email us at contact@theferret.scot.

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