Law BURGES SALMON
The HSE is the regulatory body responsible for enforcing the HSWA, although in the context of nuclear sites this function is performed by the ONR.
Separate legislation has been adopted by the European Community, mostly under the umbrella of the EURATOM Treaty, to address some of the risks which are specific to the nuclear industry. In particular Directive 96/29/EURATOM lays down basic safety standards for the protection of workers and places limits on the amount of ionising radiation which workers can be exposed to. The Directive’s requirements are implemented in the UK by the Ionising Radiation Regulations 1999.
Security
The Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS), essentially a division within the ONR, has overall regulatory responsibility for ensuring that nuclear licensed sites establish and maintain effective and appropriate security arrangements. The OCNS carries out this regulatory function through the Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003 (NISR).
The NISR were introduced under the HSWA and the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 and require the “responsible person” (usually the site licensee) to demonstrate that sufficient security measures are in place to protect the installation. Such measures include, for example, the preparation of a detailed Site Security Plan, appropriate security screening of site personnel, and obtaining OCNS authorisation for all proposed structural works on the site.
Nuclear site operators are also required by the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2001 to produce an Emergency Plan detailing the steps which are to be taken in the event of a radiological emergency.
Environmental controls
Historically, the most important piece of UK legislation which governed the use and storage of radioactive substances was the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 (RSA). Operators of premises which stored radioactive substances were required to register with the Environment Agency (EA) and obtain a specific authorisation before managing radioactive material.
These RSA provisions still apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland, although have been replaced in England and Wales by the Environmental Permitting (England
54 NuclearCONNECT
A licensee’s keeping and use of radioactive substances on site will be governed by the site’s licence conditions.
and Wales) Regulations 2010, which now require that:
• Site operators holding a nuclear site licence under the NIA must obtain an Environmental Permit from the EA to cover the receipt and disposal of radioactive waste and the use of mobile radioactive apparatus offsite. A licensee’s keeping and use of radioactive substances on site will be governed by the site’s licence conditions.
• Tenants of nuclear sites (i.e. not the entity holding the site licence) must also obtain an Environmental Permit from the EA to cover the receipt and disposal of radioactive waste, and the use of mobile radioactive apparatus offsite. Tenants’ Environmental Permits will also cover the keeping and use of radioactive substances on the site because they will not hold a nuclear site licence.
The radioactive contaminated land regime, contained in Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA), regulates the remediation of land which has been contaminated with radioactive substances. The EPA is often an important piece of legislation during the decommissioning of a nuclear installation, as are the Nuclear Reactors (Environmental Impact Assessment for Decommissioning) Regulations 1999, which require an environmental impact assessment to be carried out when nuclear power stations are decommissioned.
If this article raises any issues you would like to discuss further, or you’d like to suggest subjects for future articles or to register to receive Burges Salmon’s free nuclear e-bulletin, please contact Gareth Davies: Direct line: 0117 307 6920 Email:
gareth.davies@burges-salmon.com
The latest version of the Burges Salmon nuclear glossary of key terms and acronyms is now available to be downloaded at
www.niauk.org/a-to-z- glossary
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