The Office for Nuclear Regulation’s (ONR’s) Board recently held their March meeting in Cumbria over two days to enable them to visit the Sellafield site and to engage directly with Sellafield Limited’s Board.
Meeting with licensees is a routine part of the ONR Board’s stakeholder engagement and enables an enhanced understanding of the challenges faced and regulatory attention required at sites.
The ONR Board were first given a tour of the Sellafield site to see some of the key facilities and the progress which is being made at them. The two Boards subsequently jointly discussed hazard and risk reduction progress and the future priorities for the safe clean-up of the site which remains a key ONR priority.
They also considered the themes of ONR’s Chief Nuclear Inspector’s annual report, including conventional health and safety performance, and leadership for safety and security culture. This was followed by an ONR only Board meeting.
ONR’s Board is chaired by Mark McAllister and consists of five other Non-Executive Directors and four Executive members. The Board support ONR’s work by providing strategic leadership, monitoring resources and performance, and ensure good governance. For more information about the Board visit ONR - Management board and staff.
ONR’s Chair, Mark McAllister said: “I’d like to thank Sellafield Limited for hosting our Board meeting and providing us with a tour of the site.
“The majority of our Board meetings are held at our offices in Bootle, Cheltenham or London or, in more recent times, via MS Teams to comply with the global Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.
“However, since restrictions have now been lifted, we aim to resume our past practice of holding one meeting a year at different sites. This provides us with an excellent opportunity to positively engage with stakeholders, hear their feedback first-hand on our regulation and the challenges they face on site, as well as gaining a better understanding of ONR’s regulatory approach.”