Public consultation on ONR's interpretation of 'bulk quantities' of radioactive matter - supplementary

In 2011 The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) consulted on its proposed approach to the definition, in relation to storage of radioactive matter, of "Bulk Quantities"  for the purposes of section 1(1)(b) of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 and the Nuclear Installations Regulations 1971. The consultation ended on 12th December 2011.

After careful consideration of the comments received, ONR is considering amending its proposal in the Interim Position Statement in one key respect.

Under the original proposal, ONR would have considered that an installation was designed or adapted to store a bulk quantity of radioactive matter if it was designed or adapted to store a quantity of such matter at or above 100x the levels set out in Schedule 2 to Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2001 (REPPIR).

We are now considering a revision to this approach to broaden our interpretation of bulk quantities for this purpose.

This consultation paper sets out ONR’s revised approach, the reasons for change and seeks views on the changes that ONR is considering.

ONR will publish a final response to both consultation exercises after consideration of the responses to this supplementary consultation.

• View the consultative document and accompanying documents:
• View the original consultation which ended on 12 December 2011.

Responses

• This document provides ONR's decision on how it will interpret 'bulk quantities' in judgements on whether installations designed or adapted for the storage of nuclear matter will require a nuclear site licence. The appendix set out how we took into account the results of the consultations in coming to this decision.
• This statement describes ONR's approach to the interpretation of 'bulk quantities' in relation to the storage of radioactive matter for the purposes of Section 1 of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (NIA) and the Nuclear Installations Regulations 1971. This statement provides clarity for ONR inspectors and prospective operators of installations designed or adapted for the storage of radioactive matter who may be considering whether they need to apply for a nuclear site licence.