MoD finds radioactive readings at RAF Shawbury

The airbase where Princes William and Harry learned to fly helicopters has been contaminated by radioactivity from World War II military hardware, it emerged today.

RAF Shawbury has been named in a list of contaminated military sites nationwide, which include current and former air and naval bases.

New disclosures by the Ministry of Defence suggest the contamination originated from radioactive materials used to coat the dials of aircraft and other military equipment to enhance their visibility in the dark.

But the MoD today said the risk to human health was 'negligible', adding that risks to site users were at worst 'low' because management controls were in place.

An MoD spokesman said a number of locations formerly used for aircraft breaking and aircraft maintenance were identified at RAF Shawbury.

Results of tests on samples from the site show radium-226 present in nine samples, while two further samples contained naturally occurring uranium-238.

Radium remains radioactive for thousands of years.

The Shropshire airbase was listed among sites 'not previously known to have been contaminated with radium' in a national newspaper yesterday.

The list was released after a series of freedom of information requests.