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The Company has commissioned an independent investigation into the cause of last night’s fire and will make all findings available to its independent regulators, the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (part of the Health & Safety Executive HSE).

The fire, which started in the explosives manufacturing area around 9pm (Tues 3 Aug) at the east end of the Aldermaston site, was confirmed out at 1.10am in the early hours of Wednesday morning (Aug 4).

The worker who was injured as a result of the fire received minor burns to his arms and face but required only first aid treatment on site before going home. There were no other casualties as a result of the fire.

All road traffic restrictions were lifted by lunchtime and throughout today, all areas outside of the cordoned area at AWE Aldermaston have continued to operate as normal.

Robin McGill, Chief Executive Officer at AWE, said: "We would like to thank Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue for their enormous support alongside our own AWE-based fire crews who worked with great professionalism throughout the incident.

"We would also like to extend our appreciation to those local residents affected for their co-operation when advised to leave their homes and evacuate to local hotels. Our emergency response procedures worked well and although we were confident that there was no risk to the public, this routine precaution was taken to ensure the welfare and safety of our immediate neighbours.

"An investigation has already started, and we will also be working closely with the Health and Safety Executive. We will make our findings public by briefing the AWE Local Liaison Committee which is made up of representatives of local authorities in Hampshire and Berkshire."


Background information from previous statements:

• A 600m cordon, which was set up following the fire was reduced by mid-morning (today Wed) to 300m. This brought the cordon back within AWE site perimeters, and is still in place where it is likely to remain until at least tomorrow (Thurs).
• Local roads were opened when the cordon was reduced and residents were able to return home.
• There were no radiological consequences as a result of the fire.