Roles of the regulators

The roles of the principal nuclear regulators are as follows:

HSE grants site licences to allow the operation of nuclear power stations. Before granting a licence, HSE must be satisfied about the safety aspects of the design, manufacture, construction, commissioning, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of the installation, and the management of radioactive material on the site.

The Environment Agency (in England and Wales) and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (in Scotland) regulate:

• Radioactive waste disposals, including discharges;
• Abstraction from, and discharges to, controlled waters, including rivers, estuaries, the sea and groundwaters;
• Operation of specific “conventional” plant;
• Assessment and where necessary, clean-up of contaminated land;
• Disposal of conventional waste; and
• Certain flood risk management matters (Environment Agency only, not SEPA).

OCNS, now part of HSE’s Nuclear Directorate is the regulator for security at all civil nuclear sites. It is concerned with physical security of nuclear material, IT security, security of nuclear material in transit, and the vetting of people who access nuclear sites. OCNS require the holder of the nuclear site licence to submit a site security plan to be approved before nuclear material arrives on site.

While all the nuclear regulators have independent responsibilities, they all recognise the benefits of building upon their existing close working arrangements to align their processes and regulatory positions wherever possible. To achieve this, a Joint Programme Coordination Team has been set up by the regulators to ensure that they work together closely and effectively.

In addition, a Joint Programme Office (JPO) is being set up to administer the generic design assessment process on behalf of all the nuclear regulators. The JPO will have its own web site – to be launched later this summer.