New Chair for Nuclear Safety Advisory Committee

HSC press release C042:04 - 14 September 2004

The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) has announced the appointment of Mr Steve Vranch as Chair of the Nuclear Safety Advisory Committee (NuSAC), in succession to Professor John Head CBE, who retired at the end of 2003.

Announcing the appointment, HSC Chair Bill Callaghan said: "I am delighted that Steve Vranch has accepted the challenge of leading NuSAC through a period of continuing change for the nuclear industry, with more sites moving into decommissioning activities, and in particular with the formation of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).

"The public rightly expects to have continuing assurance about standards of nuclear safety. NuSAC performs an important role in helping HSC and its Executive to fulfil their functions as regulators of safety in the nuclear industry. I expect Steve to be a worthy successor to John Head, who guided NuSAC for the past three years."

Steve Vranch said: "I look forward to the challenge of leading NuSAC during this period of change. NuSAC, together with its Research and Review groups, has a full programme of work in supporting the nuclear industry in improving safety. We will continue to monitor the safety strategy of the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Safety Directorate and give science-based advice to all stakeholders.

"The arrival of the NDA will bring some restructuring in the management of parts of the industry and NuSAC can bring a focus in ensuring that safety is given top priority over this period and beyond. I will continue to promote openness in the way that the industry and regulators perform their responsibilities to public safety."

Steve Vranch is a chartered chemical engineer and the Immediate Past-President of the Institution of Chemical Engineers. He served as an independent expert on large-scale containment on HSC's Advisory Committee on Genetic Modification and was latterly the Chair of its Technical Sub-Committee.

He is currently Manager of Regulatory Compliance, Europe, with Jacobs Engineering UK Limited, an international engineering and consultancy company, having joined them ten years ago. He previously had 26 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He is a Board Member of the Society for the Environment and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Notes to editors

1. NuSAC, formerly the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (ACSNI), was established in 1977 and renamed NuSAC in July 1997.

2. In line with other HSC Advisory Committees, NuSAC is undergoing a reconstitution exercise to ensure that the Committee and its work remain relevant and appropriate to the Commission's needs. The terms of reference of the Committee, its work programme and membership will be reviewed as part of that exercise. It is expected that the Committee will be reconstituted for a three-year period starting in January 2005.

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