The interim Chair of the new Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) was today confirmed as Nick Baldwin, former chief executive of Powergen. Read it all..

Mike Weightman, chief nuclear inspector and head (director) of the Health and Safety Executive’s Nuclear Directorate, the UK’s independent nuclear safety and security regulator, said:

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Written ministerial statement from the Department for Work and Pensions, Minister for Employment, the Rt. Hon. Chris Grayling MP – Published 8 February 2011

The Government intend to bring forward legislation to create a new independent statutory body outside of the HSE to regulate the nuclear power industry. The new statutory corporation would be known as the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and would take on the relevant functions currently carried out by the Health and Safety Executive and the Department for Transport. Read it all..

HSE Nuclear Directorate (ND) has completed a re-licensing assessment in order to facilitate the reunification of Magnox North and Magnox South into one entity, Magnox Limited.

The Magnox companies, owned by Energy Solutions, are contracted by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) to decommission eight Magnox nuclear power stations and operate Wylfa and Oldbury nuclear power stations, both in their final few months of generating electricity.

Energy Solutions asked ND for regulatory permission and for re-licensing of each of the five Magnox South sites, to facilitate the merger of the Magnox companies, which when combined, would be renamed Magnox Limited. 

As part of re-licensing, ND carried out an assessment of the applicant’s organisational capability, to ensure that it remains adequate for it to manage nuclear safety effectively, and to discharge its obligations as a nuclear site licence holder.

Consulting with and working closely with its nuclear co-regulator, the Environment Agency, ND worked with the Magnox companies and the NDA, to ensure that all safety, legal, environmental issues and permits were fully addressed before considering their application to reintegrate into one licensed company.

The assessment did not identify any issues which would prevent a decision to relicense the Magnox South sites into Magnox North, so in December, permission was granted for the re-integration. This took affect with the new site licences coming into force on 5 January 2011, allowing Magnox North to proceed with the management of change supporting the integration and the creation of a new Magnox North Limited board and executive.

Summary report of the assessment

Press Release

The Health and Safety Executive has welcomed the publication of a second report into its Nuclear Directorate from the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

A team of senior nuclear regulators from across the world visited the UK in October 2009 to perform a second peer review of ND’s work in regulating safety at Britain’s nuclear facilities, the first being in 2006.

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Kevin Allars, Director of New Build GDA at the HSE, and Joe McHugh, Head of Radioactive Substances Regulation at the Environment Agency, have today published the fourth Quarterly Report for 2009 (October – December).  This provides an update on our work to assess new nuclear power station designs.

In summary, good progress continues on the assessment, but many technical issues remain open and the successful clearance of these will require high quality and timely information from the Requesting Parties (RPs).

View Fourth GDA Quarterly Report for 2009

Press Release

Interim assessment reports for two nuclear power station designs being considered for construction in the UK have been made public.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published the reports on Step 3 of its Generic Design Assessment of the designs put forward by EDF/AREVA and Westinghouse. Read it all..

The UK nuclear safety regulator (HSE’s ND), the French nuclear regulator (ASN), and the Finnish nuclear regulator (STUK) are currently working to assess the EPR Pressurised Water Reactor.

In carrying out individual assessments, we have all raised issues regarding the EPR Control and Instrumentation (C&I) systems, which the proposed licensees and/or the manufacturer (AREVA) are in the process of addressing. Read it all..

Kevin Allars, Director of New Build GDA at the HSE, and Joe McHugh, Head of Radioactive Substances Regulation at the Environment Agency, published the third Quarterly Report for 2009 (July-September) today. This provides an update on our work to assess new nuclear power station designs. Read it all..

IAEA Nuclear safety experts have concluded a 10-day mission to peer-review the UK Nuclear Regulator: Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Nuclear Directorate (ND). Read it all..