Mar 18, 2008 -- M2 PRESSWIRE

Nuclear regulators, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency (EA), today announced that the first step of 'Generic Design Assessment' (GDA) carried out on four designs submitted for new nuclear power stations had found no shortfalls at this stage - in terms of safety, security or the environment - that would prevent any of them from ultimately being constructed on licensed sites in the UK.

These findings are based on the claims made by the vendors for the designs, the basis of which will be assessed during the next steps of GDA.

The nuclear regulators have published a series of reports on their findings so far, maintaining transparency and openness in the GDA process. The reports can be viewed at http://www.hse.gov.uk/newreactors.

GDA has been set up to ensure that the safety, security and environmental aspects of new nuclear power stations are assessed early - at the design stage. The four designs subject to the initial assessment were:

* AECL's ACR 1000;

* EdF/Areva's EPR;

* General Electric-Hitachi's ESBWR; and

* Westinghouse's AP1000.

Dr. Mike Weightman, Head of HSE's Nuclear Directorate, and HM Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations said, "Our job, through the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate and the Office for Civil Nuclear Security, is to protect people and society from the hazards presented by the nuclear industry. As new nuclear power stations are being considered for the UK, it is vital for regulators to get involved with potential designs at the earliest stage - where regulatory assessments can have most influence - so that we can ensure that the existing high standards of nuclear safety and security in the UK are being maintained and improved.

The GDA process has set out new standards in openness and transparency with the creation of a public involvement process whereby the public can view designs on the web and comment on them, and by our decision to publish all our assessments reports on the web."

Joe McHugh, Head of Radioactive Substances Regulation at the Environment Agency said, "We demand that any new nuclear power stations meet high standards of safety, security and environment protection. As we begin the detailed assessment step of GDA, the reactor vendors and the regulators have much work to do before we will be able to decide whether these designs can meet those high standards.

We hope that the public will continue to take the opportunity to contribute to our assessments by providing their comments on the designs."

In the January 2008 Energy White Paper, the Government announced that if necessary it would run a prioritisation exercise to identify, in conjunction with reactor designers and operators, which of the four designs subject to the regulators' initial assessment are most likely to be to be progressed for licensing and construction. Currently BERR are awaiting confirmation from all of the design companies that they wish to continue to the next stage of GDA. If BERR do decide that they need to undertake a prioritisation process, then at the end of that process the Secretary of State for BERR will make recommendations to HSE and the Environment Agency on the designs that should be given the highest priority for progressing through the next stage of the GDA process.

At the end of the GDA process - which is likely to take around 3.5 years from start to finish - the regulators will make statements setting out their conclusions about the acceptability of the designs.

Notes to editors

* The first stage of the GDA process - the fundamental safety overview carried out by HSE and the preliminary review carried out by the Environment Agency - considers whether there are any fundamental design aspects or shortfalls that could prevent the proposed design from being licensed or authorised in the UK. This is based on the claims made by the vendors.

* HSE, through HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) grants site licences to allow the construction and operation of nuclear power stations and through its Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) the regulator for security at all civil nuclear sites.

* The Environment Agency regulates in England and Wales: - Radioactive waste disposals, including discharges; - Abstraction from, and discharges to, controlled waters, including rivers, estuaries, the sea and groundwaters; - Operation of specific "conventional" plant; - Assessment and where necessary, clean-up of contaminated land; - Disposal of conventional waste; and - Certain flood risk management matters

Background briefing GDA process In the White Paper ('Meeting the Energy Challenge') published in May 2007 the Government invited vendors of nuclear power plants to submit requests for Generic Design Assessment (GDA) by the nuclear regulators (HSE and the Environment Agency), and in June 2007 DBERR announced that 4 designs had met their criteria for being accepted for design assessment. HSE and the Environment Agency started the assessment process for all four designs in August 2007. On 10 January 2008, the Secretary of State for BERR announced the Government's conclusions following the latest public consultation - in favour of the private sector being allowed to invest in new nuclear power stations.

HSE and the Environment Agency have been using a new process called 'Generic Design Assessment' or GDA, which ensures that the safety, security and environmental implications of new nuclear power station design issues are assessed before an application is made to build that design at a particular site.

The Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process has been put in place by both HSE and the Environment Agency. It is a structured, multi-step process being carried out in an open and transparent manner, which allows the public to view and comment on design information published by the companies on the web.

The Nuclear Regulators will be working closely together to make sure there is an effective joint approach to assessment. A Joint Programme Office has been set up to administer the assessment process on behalf of all the Regulators as a 'one-stop shop'.

At the end of the GDA process - which is likely to take around 3.5 years from start to finish - the regulators will make statements setting out their conclusions about the acceptability of the designs.

The regulators' assessments of any subsequent specific site applications will take into account the generic design assessment work they have carried out and should take about a further year to complete.

HSE recently set up an independent review board as part of its governance arrangements for the GDA process. This board will carry out reviews of the Nuclear Directorate's processes, practices and procedures at key points in the design assessment process. The Board's first report on step two of the GDA process is being published on the regulators' Joint Programme Office web site and concludes that HSE has adapted well to new demands, has developed its management and decision making processes appropriately and the report has made useful recommendations for the future.

What's next In the January 2008 Energy White Paper, the Government announced that it intends to run a prioritisation exercise in 2008 to identify, in conjunction with reactor designers and operators, which of the four designs subject to the regulators initial assessment are most likely to be to be progressed for licensing and construction. At the end of this prioritisation process (which we expect to take place shortly) the Secretary of State for BERR will advice HSE and the Environment Agency on which designs should be given the highest priority for progressing through the next stage of the GDA process.

CONTACT: Health and Safety Executive WWW: http://www.hse.gov.uk

WWW: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk

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