Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2014-06-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the timetable is for the next periodic safety review of each of the UK’s nuclear power stations; whether an environmental impact assessment is required as part of the periodic safety review procedure; and what opportunities exist for public involvement in such reviews.

Michael Fallon

The Timetable for the next periodic safety reviews of each of the operating nuclear power stations is included below. The nine stations are the seven Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (AGRs) sites, the single Pressurised Water Reactor at Sizewell B and the remaining operating Magnox reactor at Wylfa.

An environmental impact assessment is undertaken by each licensee covering the radiological impact of routine discharges. Such assessments are carried out separate to the PSR submitted to ONR by the licensee under Licence Condition 15, and are regulated by the appropriate UK environmental agency – the Environment Agency, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, or Natural Resources Wales – in each case.

While there is no legal requirement for public involvement in PSRs, the decision of whether to include public involvement is taken at the discretion of each station licensee. ONR completes an assessment of the licensee’s submission prior to the decision date to ensure it meets the expectations set out in its guidance and that it provides an adequate demonstration of the future safe operation of the plant – see ONR guidance at:

• www.onr.org.uk/periodic-safety-review/

• www.onr.org.uk/operational/tech_asst_guides/ns-tast-gd-050.pdf

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