Atomic Weapons Establishment
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the World War II use of this facility, see RAF Aldermaston
The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) is responsible for the design, manufacture and support of warheads for the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent. AWE plc is responsible for the day-to-day operations of AWE. AWE plc is owned by the British Government and managed by Jacobs Engineering Group, Lockheed Martin UK and Serco through AWE Management Ltd who hold a 25 year contract (until March 2025) . The company is based close to Aldermaston (although the nearest town is Tadley in Hampshire), with major facilities at Burghfield.
The Atomic Weapons Establishment is the successor of the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE), which was built on the site of a former airfield, RAF Aldermaston. The airfield was constructed in World War II and had been used by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army's Eighth and Ninth Air Force as a troop carrier (C-47) group base, and was assigned USAAF station No 467.
Other Atomic Weapons Establishment sites could be found at ROF Burghfield, Burghfield and ROF Cardiff, Llanishen, Cardiff, the former Royal Ordnance Factories; Orford Ness and Foulness Island. The ROF Cardiff, Orford Ness and Foulness Island sites are now closed.
The establishment is the final destination for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament's annual march from Trafalgar Square, London. The first Aldermaston March was conceived by the Direct Action Committee and took place in 1958. There is currently a monthly women's peace camp held outside the Establishment to protest against its existence.
Contents |
[edit] Atomic Weapons Research Establishment
The Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE) was established on 1 April 1950, by the Ministry of Supply, at the former RAF Aldermaston airfield. Its first Director was William Penney.
[edit] Nuclear and atomic weapons
 |
This section requires expansion. |
[edit] Changes in ownership
In 1954 AWRE was transferred to the newly created United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA). In 1971, the production activities of UKAEA were transferred to the newly-created British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. (BNFL).
In 1973 AWRE was transferred to the Procurement Executive of the Ministry of Defence. Parts of AWRE's weapons production processes were carried out at two Royal Ordnance Factories (ROFs): ROF Burghfield and ROF Cardiff. In 1984 these two ROFs were separated from the other ROFs; which were then formed into a government-owned defence company, Royal Ordnance plc and was privatised in 1987. ROF Burghfield and ROF Cardiff remained within the Procurement Executive and came under the control of AWRE. In late 2008, the government announced that they had sold their stake to an American company.
[edit] The formation of AWE
In 1987, AWRE was combined with ROF Burghfield and ROF Cardiff to form the AWE. The latter sites being renamed AWE Burghfield and AWE Cardiff (the latter was closed in 1997).
It remained with the Ministry of Defence, Procurement Executive. However, in 1989, the UK government announced its intention to find a suitable private company to run AWE under a Government Owned/Contractor Operated (GO-CO) arrangement.
[edit] AWE's responsibilities
AWE is tasked to help the United Kingdom maintain a credible and effective minimum nuclear deterrent:
- To maintain the warheads for the Trident nuclear deterrent safely and reliably in service.
- To maintain a capability to design a new weapon, should it ever be required.
- To complete the dismantling and disposal of redundant warheads replaced by Trident.
- To develop the skills, technologies and techniques that could underpin future arms limitation treaties
[edit] AWE Blacknest
Formerly part of the Ministry of Defence, AWE Blacknest has, for over 40 years, been researching techniques to distinguish the seismic signals generated by underground nuclear explosions from those generated by earthquakes.
Blacknest's main function is to develop and maintain expertise in using seismic techniques to detect and identify underground explosions. This expertise and the techniques have been used in the past to provide assessments for the UK Government on nuclear explosions carried out by other countries. The expertise is to be used as part of Britain's contribution to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty which is currently being ratified by United Nations member states.
[edit] Private Management
In 1993 the government awarded a contract to Hunting-BRAE, a consortium of Hunting Engineering, Brown and Root and AEA Technology. During Hunting BRAE's management AWE decommissioned the RAFs WE177 freefall nuclear bomb. In 1998 the company suffered two prosecutions for safety breaches, one for discharge of tritium into a nearby stream [1] and another for an incident where two workers inhaled plutonium [2].
In 1999 Hunting-BRAE lost the contract to AWE Management Ltd, (AWE ML) a consortium of BNFL, Lockheed Martin and Serco which assumed responsibility on 1 April 2000. This does not represent privatisation, the Ministry of Defence still owns all the AWE sites and a Golden Share in AWE plc. Critics have pointed out that BNFL and Lockheed Martin do not have perfect safety records either. BNFL has suffered embarrassing revelations of falsified quality checks in nuclear fuels and Lockheed has been the subject of scathing reports on the operation of U.S. nuclear facilities. Lockheed's failings include safety concerns at the Y-12 facility at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, an American weapons plant similar in certain ways to Aldermaston.
In December 2008, it was announced that the BNFL share in the management company had been sold by the British government[3] to Jacobs Engineering Group, an American engineering services company. Parallels have been drawn between this and the plot of the 1980s television series the "Edge of Darkness" [4]
A significant programme of investment took place over the three year period from 2005 to 2008, of about £350 million per year, to provide assurance that the existing Trident missile warhead is reliable and safe throughout its intended in-service life. The new facilities and extra supporting infrastructure are required in the absence of live nuclear testing no longer allowed under the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. [5]
AWE cooperates with the U.S. Los Alamos National Laboratory in carrying out subcritical nuclear tests at the Nevada underground test site to obtain scientific data to maintain the safety and reliability of nuclear weapons. Subcritical tests are not banned by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty on nuclear weapons. The most recent test took place in February 2006. [6]
The cost of decommissioning AWE facilities when they become redundant, including nuclear waste disposal, was estimated at £3.4 billion in 2005.[7]
[edit] See also
- 1958 US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement
- Atomic Energy Research Establishment
- The Leaky Establishment
- Operation Grapple
- Tube Alloys
- William Penney
- John Dolphin CBE
[edit] References
[edit] Further reading
- Arnold, Lorna (2001). Britain and the H-bomb. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-94742-8.
- Freeman, Roger A. (1994). UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now. Old Harlow: After the Battle. ISBN 0-900913-80-0.
- Gowing, Margaret and Arnold, Lorna (1974). Independence and Deterrence: Britain and Atomic Energy, 1945-1952. Volume 1: Policy Making. London: The Macmillan Press. ISBN 0-333-15781-8.
- Gowing, Margaret and Arnold, Lorna (1974). Independence and Deterrence: Britain and Atomic Energy, 1945-1952. Volume 2: Policy Execution. London: The Macmillan Press. ISBN 0-333-16695-7.
[edit] External links
- Official AWE site
- Plutonium and Aldermaston - An Historical Account, Federation of American Scientists (FAS), 4 September 2001
- AWE Management Ltd. partners
- BNFL (shares in AWE Management Ltd sold to Jacobs Engineering Dec '08)
- Jacobs Engineering (since Dec '08)
- Lockheed Martin UK
- Serco
- Aldermaston Women's Peace Camp
- Revealed: UK develops secret nuclear warhead, The Sunday Times, March 12, 2006
Coordinates: 51°21′46″N 001°08′22″W / 51.36278°N 1.13944°W
