THE UNITED KINGDOM’S SEVENTH NATIONAL REPORT ON COMPLIANCE WITH THE OBLIGATIONS OF THE CONVENTION ON NUCLEAR SAFETY January 2017 Contributors to the United Kingdom's National Report The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) prepared this report on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change, in consultation with and incorporating contributions from: Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) EDF Nuclear Generation Limited (EDF NGL) Environment Agency Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) NNB Genco (New Licensee - Hinkley Point C) Hitachi-GE (Generic Design Assessment - Requesting Party) Westinghouse (Generic Design Assessment - Requesting Party) Executive Summary This is the seventh report to be submitted by the United Kingdom (UK) in compliance with Article 5 of the Convention on Nuclear Safety (hereafter referred to as ‘the Convention’). Since the Convention came into force in 1996, the UK has participated in all six reporting cycles meeting its obligations under the Convention. This report focuses on the UK’s operational civil nuclear power stations. The nuclear industry in the UK continues to evolve, with plans to develop a new generation of nuclear power stations as part of the government’s energy policy in England and Wales. This report discusses new build design and licensing activities and demonstrates the application of modern safety standards and processes to those projects. Major legislative and regulatory changes In accordance with the Convention’s guidance on the scope and nature of national reports, the UK has highlighted the main developments to its legislative and regulatory framework since the Sixth Convention Review Meeting in April 2014, notably: The UK made a significant change to its regulatory organisations on 1 April 2014, when the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) vested as a standalone independent statutory public body, implemented through the Energy Act 2013. ONR is the UK regulator for nuclear safety, civil nuclear security and transport of civil radioactive materials. The Energy Act 2013 also provided ONR with the responsibility for regulating industrial health and safety on nuclear sites. Environmental regulation is the responsibility of each of the UK devolved administrations, the Environment Agency in England, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) in Scotland and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) in Wales. Post-Fukushima improvements The UK continues to report on improvements implemented to enhance nuclear safety following the Fukushima Daiichi accident and the findings from peer review missions. This includes the UK’s position in addressing the European Nuclear Safety Regulators (ENSREG) stress test findings and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) mission to the UK in 2013, which included a specific module on Fukushima. The UK’s approach to addressing the Vienna Declaration on Nuclear Safety is provided, along with the recommendations from the President’s Report from the Sixth Convention Review meeting. UK response to the Vienna Declaration on Nuclear Safety The UK can confirm it has reflected on the three principles of the Vienna Declaration during preparation of this report, which focus on ensuring: Principle 1 - New nuclear power plants are designed, sited and constructed to prevent accidents and mitigate any possible release. The UK applies the internationally endorsed principle of defence-in-depth to the design and operation of its nuclear installations and to reducing risks where reasonably practicable; these principles are firmly embedded in ONR’s Safety Assessment Principles (SAPs). There is a clear national policy on siting new reactors with a number of sites already identified. The final layer of defence-in-depth is emergency preparedness and response and the UK continues to develop and test local, regional and national plans to ensure emergency preparedness is maintained and improved. Principle 2 - Comprehensive and systematic through-life safety reviews of existing installations and making timely reasonably practicable improvements. A nuclear site licence requires the licensee to conduct periodic safety reviews at each site. This means that for many years, the UK has been regularly reviewing and re-assessing the safety of its nuclear installations, and making improvements where necessary. The UK, through ONR, maintains oversight of safety significant issues and ensures a proportionate response is taken by licensees in implementing improvements. The UK is leading a Western European Nuclear Regulatory Association (WENRA) initiated working group to establish guidance on the implementation of timely reasonably practical improvements. Principle 3 - National requirements / regulations take due account of IAEA standards and other relevant good practice. The UK actively participates in the Commission on Safety Standards and related committees. The UK applies IAEA Safety Standards and ensures consistency with its own regulations, regulatory requirements and guidance for existing and new nuclear facilities. Challenges from the Sixth Review Meeting The UK has met the five challenges identified by the Special Rapporteur in the President’s Report, which include: 1) Minimising gaps between Contracting Parties safety improvements. Oversight is maintained of the planned programmes of safety improvements, including those implemented post-Fukushima to ensure they are proportionate to the different natural conditions / extreme events predicted in the UK. Information is shared through international peer review processes, bilateral information exchange agreements with both established states and those with emerging nuclear markets, and through open and transparent reporting. 2) Achieving harmonised emergency plans and response measures. The UK takes cognisance of European and international emergency preparedness developments to harmonise and enable improvements in response capabilities. The UK shares information and participates in working groups that support implementation of the European Commission Nuclear Directives and IAEA Basic Safety Standards. The UK collaborates with key European and International bodies including Heads of the European Radiological Protection Competent Authority (HERCA) and WENRA to develop common off-site cross-border emergency approaches. 3) Making better use of operating and regulatory experience and international peer review services. The UK uses intelligence gained from its inspection, assessment and incident reports to identify areas for safety improvements and to inform regulatory strategies and plans. The UK actively participates in IAEA IRRS missions, embracing feedback to ensure continuous improvement. The UK recently hosted an IAEA Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) mission to Sizewell B, which provided a valuable opportunity to exchange technical and regulatory experience between experts and their station counterparts to achieve the common goal of excellence in operational safety. 4) Improving regulator’s independence, safety culture, openness and transparency. ONR’s independence as a regulator is legally anchored in the Energy Act 2013. The Energy Act 2013 defined the purposes and powers of the statutory ONR, enshrining ONR’s independence and key purposes in a single piece of primary legislation. ONR has a policy of presumption of disclosure of information about its activities. Information on regulatory decisions and judgements are made publicly available through the ONR website. 5) Encouraging all countries to participate in international co-operation. The UK works closely with its counterparts in other countries to ensure its approaches reflect international good practice and that lessons are learned from experience elsewhere. ONR collaborates with other national regulators on new reactors, in particular the designs, as part of the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process through the Multinational Design Evaluation Programme (MDEP). The UK promotes multilateral co-operation through the IAEA on the development of Safety Standards and works with fellow members of the European Union through ENSREG and the wider community via groups such as WENRA. The UK has also made tangible and timely progress addressing feedback from the Special Rapporteur in 2014, notably: • ONR published a revised version of its SAPs in 2014, taking account of the lessons learned from Fukushima. • Implementation of the UK National Action Plan to improve safety post- Fukushima and resilience to beyond design basis events . Other key issues In order to deliver effective regulation of the challenges facing the nuclear industry the UK has adopted an ‘enabling’ and integrated approach to nuclear regulation. This is a constructive approach with licensees, duty holders and other relevant stakeholders that seeks effective delivery against clear and prioritised nuclear safety outcomes. Challenges relating to the regulation of an ageing fleet of Advanced Gas Cooled Reactors (AGRs) arise, notably from graphite and boiler integrity issues and in combatting the threats from cyber security. Considerable focus has been placed on ensuring adequate programmes are put in place by licensees to address ageing and obsolescence issues, notably in the area of control and instrumentation. The UK’s security and safety experts work together using integrated approaches to ensure security threats do not have a detrimental effect on safety. The integrated approach taken by ONR is reflected in the UK’s