UK on alert as workers use superglue to fix broken bolts in nuclear reactor chamber

An investigation has been launched on January 29 (Night) by the UK Navy chiefs after workers on a Trident sub risked disaster by gluing broken bolts in a nuclear reactor chamber, reported the Sun. This blunder was discovered after one bolt fell off during checks aboard the 16,000-ton HMS Vanguard. Instead of informing about the damage and taking the required measures to fix the broken shafts, civilian staff at defense contractor Babcock glued the heads back on. The glued bolts held insulation in place on coolant pipes which prevent a Chernobyl-style meltdown, reported The Sun.

The reported glitch was termed "a process of work issue" and had not shared any details about the bolts and glue. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has demanded a meeting and “assurances about future work”. Meanwhile, according to one of the Navy sources, Wallace was furious over Babcock, which is one of the UK’s biggest defense contractors, failing to come clean with the Navy.

“It’s a disgrace. You can’t cut corners with nuclear. Standards are standards. Nuclear standards are never compromised,” said Defence Minister. 

Carelessness on Trident sub

Investigators are looking at records to work out when it happened and who should be held responsible for this blunder. However, the damage was done during a dry dock refurbishment and refueling at HMNB Devonport, Plymouth. The Ministry of Defence UK has raised its concerns after the damage caused by carelessness. 

“As part of a planned inspection, a defect was found from work done when HMS Vanguard was in dry dock. It was promptly reported and fixed," said MoD while talking about the case. 

Further, the Secretary of State had word with the chief executive officer of Babcock about this whole clumsiness with the Nuclear reactor and seek assurance for the future. “This is a massive trust issue for Babcock and the Royal Navy to resolve. It makes you wonder what else has been done poorly. Damage like this should’ve been picked up by quality control way before this late stage inspection. The time pressure created by the falling way behind the programme may have caused this behaviour,” said Former sub captain Cdr Ryan Ramsay.