The Office for Nuclear Regulation recently welcomed a senior delegation from Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ANVS), the Dutch nuclear regulator, to the UK to host a discussion about developing regulatory capability for nuclear new build.
The Netherlands is considering expanding their nuclear generation capacity and the visit was part of the arrangement between ONR and ANVS to share experience regarding regulation of new build projects.
Following a full day at our Cheltenham office with a presentation from Jane Bowie, ONR’s Director of New Reactors, the ANVS delegation visited Hinkley Point C (HPC) in Somerset to learn more about the construction and regulation of new nuclear and to take learnings back to the Netherlands.
As part of the Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA) on reactor oversight, ONR and ANVS are part of a ‘buddy’ system designed to make sharing knowledge and expertise more accessible.
This system has enabled the HPC site inspector to develop a bilateral regulatory relationship with their ANVS counterpart at PALLAS research reactor in Petten, which is currently under construction.
Mahtab Khan, ONR’s Head of European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) Regulation and the UK’s representative for CNRA, said “We were pleased to host the ANVS delegation and discuss regulatory capability for nuclear new build, especially given there is growing government ambition for new nuclear in the Netherlands.
“By sharing experiences and visiting HPC, ANVS delegates received an overview of UK nuclear new build projects, Generic Design Assessments in progress, and Advanced Nuclear Technologies. We look forward to continuing to work together to share information and experiences on the regulation of new build.”
Bernd Keller, director of the Competent Authority Department at ANVS, said: “The last construction and commissioning of a new reactor in the Netherlands was 50 years ago. So this is in a way new to us and requires a steep learning and development curve. We are actively seeking experiences and knowledge from other countries and greatly appreciate the exchange with ONR.”