BABCOCK wants permission to dispose of more dangerous radioactive waste from the old nuclear submarines laid up at Rosyth Dockyard.
There is an application to vary their existing permit and a public consultation will give locals a say before the Scottish Environment Protection Agency make their decision.
It's to do with the Submarine Dismantling Project which will eventually see radioactive waste removed from 27 Royal Navy nuclear subs - the next stage will see a "large hole" cut into the side of each vessel to access the most hazardous material.
Seven are in long term storage at Rosyth but the current permit only allows for low level waste to be taken out of the boats and the Ministry of Defence scheme is ready to go to the next stage.
The application explained: "This will allow Rosyth Royal Dockyard Ltd to remove all radioactive waste (including intermediate level waste) from the submarines in preparation for them to be fully dismantled and structural steel and non-active components either reused or recycled, where practicable.
"Stage two is new work for the site and to accommodate this, a new facility is being built at No.2 Dock on Rosyth Business Park within the nuclear licensed site.
"This has been specifically designed for the stage two process. The new building requires the installation of an active ventilation system.
"A new authorised gaseous discharge point is therefore applied for."
Sepa granted authorisation in 2016 for stage one of the project, which involved the removal of low level waste and "permitted gaseous and liquid discharges to specific limits".
The permit regulates the quantity and activity of gaseous and aqueous radioactive waste which may be disposed of to the environment.
So far low level waste has been "successfully and safely" taken out of four subs at Rosyth - Swiftsure, Resolution, Revenge and Repulse - which has been within budget and expected timescales.
"In addition to this, a world first was achieved on Revenge with the successful removal of two main steam generators from a nuclear submarine."
The project has now reached the point where intermediate level waste removal is being planned - primarily the reactor pressure vessel which is inside the primary shield tank, which will be taken out by cutting a "large hole" in the side of the sub.
Swiftsure will be first.
READ MORE: Rosyth submarine dismantling project making good progress
The removed reactor pressure vessels will then be put in a transport container and taken to the Capenhurst nuclear licensed site on Cheshire for storage.
The primary shield tank, which is low level waste, will move to a different facility at the dockyard where it will be "processed for separate disposal".
And it's not just radioactive waste as Sepa was told that "one of the main hazardous substances that needs to be dealt with is asbestos" which was used in lagging on the older subs.
To enable all of this to happen the permit needs to be varied and, with the current and future work "an increase to the aqueous and gaseous discharge limits is also required".
Modelling to assess the environmental impact of stage two said that "all the results were well below the public dose limit".
The consultation is available on the Sepa website until Thursday October 31.
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