Guidance on new nuclear power station designs

The HSE with the other principal nuclear regulators are publishing new guidance on the arrangements that have been developed to assess generic designs for any new nuclear power stations.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) with the other principal nuclear regulators are publishing new guidance on the arrangements that have been developed to assess generic designs for any new nuclear power stations that may potentially be built in the UK.

The coordinated guidance can be found at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear/reactors/index.htm The guidance provides advice on the processes needed to be followed and information that will be required by the regulators - HSE, the Environment Agency (EA), the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and the Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) - during the generic design assessment process.

The publication of the guidance is in response to the Government's report, "The Energy Challenge" published early this year as part of its Energy Review in which the regulators were asked to take forward this work.

The new process will ensure that generic reactor design assessments are not only rigorous and robust but also conducted in an open and transparent manner involving stakeholders, and the public.

At the end of the generic assessment, HSE will provide a view on the acceptability of a new nuclear power station design.

If an application is made to build this design of reactor at a specific site, HSE will follow its existing licensing process but, in addition, would take full account of the generic assessment work that has been carried out.

This again would be done in close partnership with other regulators.

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