HSE grants decommissioning consent for Calder Hall

E090:05 30 June 2005

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published a report on its decision to grant consent for a decommissioning project at Calder Hall nuclear power station in West Cumbria, to the licensee, British Nuclear Group Sellafield Ltd (BNGSL). Consent was granted earlier this month.

The report is primarily a document of record. It describes the reasons and considerations behind HSE's decision, conditions attached to the consent and the main measures that BNGSL will take to control any significant adverse environmental effects of the project. It also provides details of the current legal framework for nuclear safety, in particular the environmental impact assessment regulations under which consent was granted.

Mike Weightman, HSE's Director of Nuclear Safety and HM Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations, commented: "The process of considering potential environmental impacts has involved extensive public consultation and there has been a great deal of interest shown by national bodies and local groups alike. I believe that process has been open and inclusive and I wish to thank everyone who has been involved, especially those who took the time to send comments on the documentation provided by the licensee .

"Regulators, licensee, staff and particularly the local population all have a vested interest

in the effective control of environmental impacts during Calder Hall's decommissioning. BNGSL must provide HSE's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate with a copy of its environmental management plan, and any subsequent revisions. We also require BNGSL keep the public regularly informed on progress, by making these plans available for inspection. We have striven to make our decision-making process open and transparent and will continue to do so throughout the coming decades of this project."

Copies of 'the decision on the application to carry out a decommissioning project at Calder Hall Power Station under the Nuclear Reactors (Environmental Impact Assessment for Decommissioning) Regulations 1999: A report prepared by HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive', are available on the HSE website at: www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear/nuc23.pdf

Notes to editors

1. European Council Directive 85/337/EEC, as amended by Directive 97/11/EC, sets out a framework for assessing the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment. For nuclear reactor decommissioning projects, the Directive is implemented in Britain by the Nuclear Reactors (Environmental Impact Assessment for Decommissioning) Regulations 1999. The intention of the Directive and Regulations is to involve the public, through consultation, in considering the potential environmental impact of decommissioning projects, and to make the decision-making process on granting consent open and transparent.

2. The Regulations require a licensee to undertake an environmental impact assessment, prepare a statement summarising the environmental effects of the project, and apply to HSE for consent to carry out a decommissioning project. There is an optional stage where the licensee may request from HSE an opinion on what the environmental statement should contain (called a pre-application opinion).

3. The licensee of Calder Hall power station, British Nuclear Group Sellafield Ltd (BNGSL), previously British Nuclear Fuels plc, requested a pre-application opinion and provided information in a pre-application opinion report in October 2003. HSE undertook a public consultation and provided its pre-application opinion in February 2004. BNGSL applied to HSE for consent to carry out a decommissioning project and provided an environmental statement in August 2004. A further public consultation, which ended in December 2004, was undertaken on the environmental statement. HSE requested evidence to verify information in the statement, which BNGSL subsequently provided. Both public consultations involved around 70 organisations.

4. HSE granted consent to carry out a decommissioning project at Calder Hall NPS on 21 June 2005. HSE took the following factors into account when reaching its decision: the adequacy of information provided in the environmental statement; the conclusion that environmental benefits would far outweigh detriments; the prediction that there would be no significant effects on other countries and recognition that some issues would be covered adequately elsewhere, such as through other regulatory regimes.

5. The conditions attached to the consent concern mitigation measures to prevent, reduce and, if possible, offset adverse environmental effects of the project. In brief, BNGSL must prepare an environmental management plan that identifies mitigation measures, and reports on implementation and effectiveness of, and any changes to, those measures (plus the reasons for any changes) in light of experience.

6. HSE must be notified in advance of any significant change to a mitigation measure to control any major adverse effects on the environment. A copy of the environmental management plan and its subsequent revisions must be sent to HSE and made available to the public.

7. Calder Hall power station is situated on the west coast of Cumbria within the Sellafield nuclear site. Commissioned in 1956, it was the oldest station in the Magnox fleet when it ceased generating electricity in March 2003. Calder Hall is the third nuclear power station site at which HSE has granted consent for a decommissioning project, the others being Hinckley Point A, Somerset (in July 2003) and Bradwell, Essex (in December 2003).

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