The UK is committed to delivering the highest standards of nuclear and radiation safety, a global review has concluded.
Earlier this year, the country hosted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) follow-up mission to the UK.
The UK follow-up mission response was co-ordinated by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and was held in the Office for Nuclear Regulation’s (ONR) Bootle office in Merseyside.
The IRRS team, comprising of seven senior regulatory experts from seven IAEA Member States, three IAEA staff members, and one observer from Canada, liaised with 12 regulatory bodies and several government departments.
The follow-up mission report has now been published, with acting Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, and IRRS Mission Team Leader, Ramzi Jammal, declaring that “…the UK has made continuous improvements since the IRRS 2019 mission to the highest standards of nuclear and radiation safety.”
IRRS missions are a comprehensive peer review of a nation’s regulatory infrastructure for safety against IAEA safety standards and are carried out by teams of international experts.
In October 2019, the IRRS full scope mission to the UK made 24 recommendations to bring the UK system into further compliance with IAEA safety standards.
Seven recommendations related, directly or indirectly, to ONR.
The 2024 follow-up mission assessed the UK's progress in addressing these recommendations and concluded that 19 of these recommendations are now closed.
All ONR-related recommendations were closed after clear evidence was provided demonstrating positive progress.
ONR’s mission response was coordinated by a team led by Alistair Hillery, Deputy Director of Regulation - Core Operations and Regulatory Development.
He said: “We are delighted that the IRRS team has acknowledged the strong commitment and professionalism from all UK regulatory bodies involved in this comprehensive review. It reflects the significant progress made in response to the findings from the 2019 mission.
“We are particularly pleased that, as a result of the evidence we provided, they have closed all outstanding actions for ONR from the 2019 mission.”
The mission also praised two specific areas of ONR ‘Good Performance’, with its Policy on Openness and Transparency, and the independent assessment of its culture, delivered by the Alliance Manchester Business School.