Compliance

The activities of the nuclear industry in the UK are governed by several different pieces of safety legislation that operators must comply with:

HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK ACT

The operators of nuclear facilities in the UK, like their counterparts in other industries and places of work in general, are required to comply with the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSW Act). The HSW Act places a fundamental duty on employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all their employees. It also imposes a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in their employment are not exposed to risks to their health or safety as a result of the activities undertaken.

THE NUCLEAR INSTALLATIONS ACT

The safety of nuclear installations in the UK is secured primarily through the nuclear site licence. Nuclear site licences are granted for an indefinite term and one licence may cover the lifetime of an installation from design, siting, construction, commissioning, operation, and modification through to eventual completion of decommissioning

The Office for Nuclear Regulation has developed a standard set of 36 conditions which are attached to all nuclear site licences. The licence conditions provide the basis for regulation by HSE. They do not relieve the licensee of the responsibility for safety

IONISING RADIATION REGULATIONS 1999

These Regulations and their associated Approved Code of Practice cover the general radiation protection of workers and the public from work activities involving  ionising radiations. They include a general duty to keep exposures as low as reasonably practicable and, among other requirements, set limits on such exposure. They implement, in part, the latest Euratom Basic Safety Standards Directive.

NUCLEAR REACTORS (ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR DECOMMISSIONING) REGULATIONS 1999

The EIADR make the dismantling or decommissioning of nuclear power stations and most nuclear reactors subject to environmental impact assessment and various procedural requirements. In carrying out the EIA, the licensee must submit an Environmental Statement to Office for Nuclear Regulation, seeking consent for the work to commence.

RADIATION (EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND PUBLIC INFORMATION) RREGULATIONS 2001

The Regulations place obligations on the licensee to produce an emergency plan for dealing with any reasonably foreseeable radiation emergency, as well as providing prior information to the population around the site. The Regulations also place duties on the local authority in whose area the site is based, to prepare (and if necessary, implement) an offsite emergency plan for dealing with the consequences of any reasonably foreseeable radiation emergency in an area determined by the Office for Nuclear Regulation.

OTHER

Other relevant legislation is contained in the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 that require, among other things, a suitable and sufficient risk assessment, and in the other regulations made under the HSW Act, eg Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations; Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations; Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations; Pressure Systems Safety Regulations; Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (as amended) and Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations. The latter requires a risk assessment for any substance identified in the Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations. Nuclear operators must comply with these regulations in the same way as any other employer, and the codes of practice associated with these regulations will often contain relevant good practice that can be used in safety cases when demonstrating what is reasonably practicable.

The licensing of nuclear installations - Health and Safety Executive

Bookmark and Share