On 25th October 2006 the Government accepted the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management's (CoRWM) recommendations that:
The following provides information on HSE’s role in implementing this decision in respect of the development of a geological disposal facility.
Full information on the Government’s programme for implementing its policy on radioactive waste management are on the Defra website
HSE is the corporate body appointed to enforce health and safety law. It is the licensing authority for nuclear installations. The geological disposal facility will be a nuclear installation under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (as amended) (NIA65) and as such it will be HSE’s role to grant a licence for the site, with attached conditions, and then to enforce the requirements of that licence. Information on the process of applying for a licence and its implications is in the document "The licensing of nuclear installations" published by HSE in 2007.
There are several options on how to bring the disposal facility within the remit of NIA65. HSE and the Government will be considering how best to take this forward. Whichever option is chosen will not affect the outcome in practical terms. Hence this does not affect other decisions to be made in the near future and the timescale for resolving this is limited only by the date when a licence will be required – i.e. when the operator starts to "install" the facility.
In addition to licensing under NIA65, HSE will also enforce other aspects of health and safety with respect to the disposal facility including those associated with the risks from tunneling operations.
HSE will also be responsible for approving security arrangements at the disposal facility, and for securing compliance with those arrangements. It also oversees safeguard measures to verify that States comply with their international obligations not to use nuclear materials for nuclear explosives purposes.
HSE has developed a standard set of 36 conditions, which are attached to all current nuclear site licences [although for sites operated under contract to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Licence Condition 3, ‘Restrictions on dealing with the site’, has been slightly modified]. In the main, the licence conditions require the licensee to make and implement adequate arrangements to address the particular issues identified. Each licensee can develop licence condition compliance arrangements that best suit its business whilst demonstrating that safety is being managed properly. Similarly, the arrangements made to comply with them may change as the facility progresses through its life from initial design to final decommissioning.
HSE intend to attach the same set of standard licence conditions to any licence for a disposal facility although these will be reviewed to see if there are any necessary modifications in relation to specific issues relating to a geological disposal facility.
HSE’s safety assessment principles for nuclear facilities (SAPs) apply to the assessment of safety cases for nuclear facilities that may be operated by potential licensees, existing licensees, or other dutyholders. The term ‘safety case’ is used to encompass the totality of a licensee’s (or dutyholder’s) documentation to demonstrate high standards of nuclear safety and radioactive waste management, and any sub-set of this documentation.
The SAPs provide inspectors with a framework for making consistent regulatory judgements on nuclear safety cases. The principles are supported by Technical Assessment Guides (TAGs), and other guidance, to further assist decision making by the nuclear safety regulatory process. The SAPs also provide nuclear site dutyholders with information on the regulatory principles against which their safety provisions will be judged. However, they are not intended or sufficient to be used as design or operational standards, reflecting the non-prescriptive nature of the UK’s nuclear regulatory system. In most cases the SAPs are guidance to inspectors, but where guidance refers to legal requirements they can be mandatory depending on the circumstances.
Aspects of the geological disposal facility of particular interest to HSE are those relating to the handling, processing and storage of radioactive material and how this may affect the health and safety of workers of the public. In this respect, the operation of a geological disposal facility is no different, other than in a matter of scale, to any other nuclear installation. HSE will use the SAPs as its standard for assessing the geological disposal facility. The SAPs are under constant review, and if aspects arise that suggest a need to modify or add to the SAPs in respect of geological disposal then these will be considered, and if appropriate, modifications or additions made.
The lead regulator in respect of the authorisation of disposal at a geological disposal facility is the Environment Agency.
Although HSE has no direct role in the requirements for disposal, they do have a role in respect to the way radioactive waste is stored prior to being disposed of. HSE has therefore worked with the Environment Agency to produce Joint Guidance on the management of higher activity radioactive wastes specifically to take account of the interaction between disposal requirements and the management of radioactive wastes prior to such disposal. Although the Guidance is also jointly badged with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to take account of the management of waste in Scotland.
In addition to its formal regulatory role, HSE has a duty to provide such advice as it can to Government and others involved in the process of implementing the Government’s policy on radioactive waste management. HSE will therefore continue to be fully involved in the Government’s implementation programme to the extent that it does not compromise its regulatory duties.
If anyone has any questions that they believe HSE can answer, or any comments on the above please contact us referencing 'Geological Disposal' in the message heading. If you require a reply please also include your email address.