Tritium is released from submarine reactors

About 200 attended the meeting to listen to a series of speakers at Plymouth's Guildhall on Thursday.

Speakers included the Green Party, CND, the Environment Agency, the Food Standards Agencies and former environment minister Michael Meacher.

Mr Meacher said safety issues needed to be addressed. The Environment Agency said radioactive chemicals in Devonport were well within acceptable limits.

Discharge review

People attending the meeting heard calls for reductions in the amount of radioactive chemicals released from Devonport Dockyard and concerns about what might happen if there was an accident.

There was particular concern about levels of tritium discharged and whether the current limits are too high, something which is currently the subject of a government review.

Tritium is a radioactive substance produced by the reactors from nuclear-powered submarines based at the Devonport yard. Levels of the chemical released were permitted to be increased by 500% last year.

Depending on the outcome of the review, it could mean changes to the tritium discharges at Devonport.

The Environment Agency told the meeting that discharge levels last year and the year before were already way below the current limits.

However, Michael Meacher said at the meeting he thought the public was entitled to a full and transparent examination of all the facts.

He said: "There are impacts of nuclear discharges on the environment."

Questions to the panel followed from the floor. People who attended had mixed views as to the information they received.

One woman said: "I feel I am clearer, and I'll probably go and try and find out more."

However, a man who was present said: "I'm not thoroughly sure what is safe and what isn't safe from the meeting."

Devonport is home to the Royal Navy's seven Trafalgar-class nuclear-powered submarines and has four decommissioned nuclear submarines awaiting dismantling.