Nuclear Waste on deck.

[Captain Kong]

Has any one on here had a deck cargo of Nuclear waste for dumping in the ocean??
I was on the URMSTON GRANGE in 1958 and had a few hundred barrels on the after deck. the Liverpool dockers had "spacemens " suits on. We did not and it was on our accommodation, we hosed them down several times a day, eventualy we dumped them in a deep trench in the South Atlantic, to the East of Argentina. We only had shorts on and flip flops.

[John Arton]

Hi
On the White Beavers when I was a Cadet we regularly carried nuclear material in lead flasks around the size of A beer barrel. No one knew what they were for but I guess it was low level stuff for such as X-Ray machines etc. Nobody, not even London Dockers, seemed to pay particular attention to them, just slung them in the corner of one of the tween decks with all the usual care and caution that the average London Stevedore paid to any cargo! (Exception been Beer and Spirits for Canada).
There was not any particular attention paid to them, nor any extra precautions taken by us on board. Seem to remember the Canadians were a bit more cautious when it came to unloading them.
rgds
John Arton

[Louis the Amigo]

Hi Captain Kong ,Hi shipmates were you paid extra? for dumping and did you sign a form? also on ship with lots of very heavy metal boxes' off loaded to lighters or small boats at dawn at sea in south africa { could have been single malt scotch} for V.I.Ps. ?????

[Captain Kong]

No we were not paid extra or signed any forms, I guess we were ignorant of the effects of nuclear stuff.
as usual stuffed by the shipowner.This was in 1958, I guess it was on the same level as working with asbestos and other types of chemicals in those days. We knew nothing of the effects of such materials.
On most cargo ships we carried all kinds of dangerous chemicals, bags burst down in the hold, and we swept it all up as we cleaned hatches, dust everywhere but no means of not breathing it all into our lungs. sometimes a piece of waste out of the rag bag tied around like a neckerchief.There must have been many cancer inducing chemicals in those cargo holds. The same with tank cleaning on tankers, tanks full of gas containg many chemicals and hydrogen Sulphide gas etc.
I just wondered if it was a common practice.

[Gulliver]

Too Right- the whole ship was a veritable cocktail of toxins,probably worse than a factory,because we were aboard these ships 24 hours a day,6 months or more at a time.
It’s a wonder many of us still have any lungs left,what with the cargo dust,engine and oil fumes,asbestos,and heavy smoking,as most of us did back then.
One example makes me cringe,involving asbestos and makes me wonder if it lurks within me just waiting ..
When I was cadet and third mate the jobs usually entailed being responsible for the maintenance of all the Fire Fighting Equipment and Life Saving Appliances.
As well as the S.C. Breathing Apparatus we carried an old bellows/airhose type with a fireman’s suit consisting of asbestos suit,gloves and helmet !
This was stowed in the foc’s’le fire locker,and was inspected weekly, and,just imagine the dust from it when the locker was opened in hot weather .I handled it without gloves,and once I even dressed the deck boy or O.S in it to show the Japanese Surveyor it was all complete ! ….(you know how the Japanese are) ….. I think the use of them was discontinued in the late 70’s or early 80’s,but like most companies they still kept them aboard….after all,it had cost them money,and could still be useful being worn by someone to help save their precious ship...so not to be dumped !
As remarked by Rob Page in another thread H & S Regs.may be a tiresome and expensive business to comply with,but it has saved many lives ,and still does, compared with our time at sea.
Gulliver
　

[Chris Allman]

I remember in L + H, we often used to carry small metal drums on deck, multi coloured, which we used to dump once we were well out into the Atlantic. We rolled them to the doors in the bulwalks and dropped them overboard. They used to sound as if they had stones or gravel in them as you rolled them. If they floated which they sometimes did, the Bosun was told to pierce the rest with a spike before we dumped them. We never knew what was in them.

Chris.

[Peter Trodden]

Capt,Kong.
I joined the "Lough Fisher"of Barrow at the Pit-Prop Berth Birkenhead 30/10/57. We had a full load of 45gal, drums. There had been a mishap at Windscale Power Station and this was the Treated waste.
We steamed up to an area West of North Uist,Outer Hebrides and hove to.All hands turned to (except the Cook) We rigged up Skids from the hatch coaming to the ships side,then using chain-hooks we would land the drums on the skid,release the hooks and let them go over the side. Some of them did float away and when we reported them to the Skipper(He was driving the winch) He said I'll radio a warning to Mariners later We were issued with Boilersuits and rubber gloves,10/- an hour handling money(Big Bucks in '57) and worked stright thru, Job and Knock. After the Job we returned to Her home port of Barrow were a team from Windscale blasted the hatches with chems,and high presure hoses.No one checked the crew.

[Captain Kong]

Thanks for all that input lads.
I was writing my story about the Urmston Grange and didnt want to be critisized saying that I made up the tale about Atomic waste. It seems it did go on and no facilities or protection for the Seafarers.
Thanks for all that.
Cheers Brian.

[Captain Kong]

Too Right- the whole ship was a veritable cocktail of toxins,probably worse than a factory,because we were aboard these ships 24 hours a day,6 months or more at a time.
It’s a wonder many of us still have any lungs left,what with the cargo dust,engine and oil fumes,asbestos,and heavy smoking,as most of us did back then.
One example makes me cringe,involving asbestos and makes me wonder if it lurks within me just waiting ..
When I was cadet and third mate the jobs usually entailed being responsible for the maintenance of all the Fire Fighting Equipment and Life Saving Appliances.
As well as the S.C. Breathing Apparatus we carried an old bellows/airhose type with a fireman’s suit consisting of asbestos suit,gloves and helmet !
This was stowed in the foc’s’le fire locker,and was inspected weekly, and,just imagine the dust from it when the locker was opened in hot weather .I handled it without gloves,and once I even dressed the deck boy or O.S in it to show the Japanese Surveyor it was all complete ! ….(you know how the Japanese are) ….. I think the use of them was discontinued in the late 70’s or early 80’s,but like most companies they still kept them aboard….after all,it had cost them money,and could still be useful being worn by someone to help save their precious ship...so not to be dumped !
As remarked by Rob Page in another thread H & S Regs.may be a tiresome and expensive business to comply with,but it has saved many lives ,and still does, compared with our time at sea.
Gulliver
　

When I was on the Urmston Grange the bellows type of BA was kept in the focsle, One day we had fire drill and we put the big helmet on a Sailors, [ Dennis,] Head, we connected the hose to it and the bellows. We started pumping and the helmet filled up with cockroaches, we could see hundreds through the glass window. Dennis was going berserk and leaping about in a frenzy. They were in his mouth, up his nose and in his ears. He couldnt get the helmet off. All hands were doubled up with laughter and no one pulled the helmet off for quite a while while we watched while Dennis was dancing like a maniac.
The hose must have had a huge nest of the cockies in it.

[Ron Kendall]

Robertsons of Glasgow had a ship on a regular run from Sharpness to the South Western Approaches, taking out small drums of waste, these had waste, topped off with concrete, and a lid on, they should by now have rotted away, leaving more waste on the sea bed. Incidentally, Fishers of Barrow, bought a second hand vessel, which they renamed Atlantic Fisher, and rigged it with devices like those that are used for depth charges, but it was never used, as the International Law stopped dumping at sea, and the vessel was sold .