The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) is the regulator for the nuclear industry in the United Kingdom.
HSE, accessed 3 April 2011 It is an independent
statutory corporation
A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, thus, they are statutes owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in ...
whose costs are met by charging fees to the nuclear industry. The ONR reports to the
Department for Work and Pensions
, type = Department
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, logo = Department for Work and Pensions logo.svg
, logo_width = 166px
, formed =
, preceding1 =
, jurisdiction = Government of the United Kingdom
, headquarters = Caxton House7th Floor6–12 Tothill Stree ...
, although it also worked closely with the now-defunct
Department of Energy and Climate Change
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom created on 3 October 2008, by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take over some of the functions related to energy of the Department for Busin ...
.
History
The establishment of the ONR followed a 2008 review conducted on behalf of the Government into the regulation of the UK civil nuclear industry, recommending the creation of a single industry specific regulator. The ONR was created on 1 April 2011 as a non-statutory
agency
Agency may refer to:
Organizations
* Institution, governmental or others
** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients
** Employment agency, a business that ...
of the
Health and Safety Executive
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a UK government agency responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare, and for research into occupational risks in Great Britain. It is a non-depar ...
(HSE), with the Government intending to put the ONR on a statutory basis at a later date.
The ONR was formed from the merger of the HSE's Nuclear Directorate (the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, the Office for Civil Nuclear Security and the UK Safeguards Office) and - from 1 June 2011 - the
Department for Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
's Radioactive Materials Transport Team.
[Proposed changes to the way we work]
HSE, accessed 3 April 2011 Legislation to establish the ONR was included in the
Energy Act 2013
The Energy Act 2013 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, relating to the energy sector. It succeeded the Energy Act 2010. The Act focuses on setting decarbonisation targets for the UK, and reforming the electricity market. The Ac ...
, and it was formally launched as an independent
statutory corporation
A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, thus, they are statutes owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in ...
on 1 April 2014.
ONR’s original mission (as detailed in the DWP/ONR Framework document) was: "To provide efficient and effective regulation of the nuclear industry, holding it to account on behalf of the public". The 2013 Energy Act specified that ONR's five statutory purposes were: Nuclear safety; Nuclear site health and safety; Civil Nuclear security; Nuclear safeguards; Transport of radioactive materials.
The ONR is governed by a ten member board, and is accountable to Parliament through the
Department for Work and Pensions
, type = Department
, seal =
, logo = Department for Work and Pensions logo.svg
, logo_width = 166px
, formed =
, preceding1 =
, jurisdiction = Government of the United Kingdom
, headquarters = Caxton House7th Floor6–12 Tothill Stree ...
(DWP) in matters of finance, governance and non-nuclear health and safety.
Nick Baldwin, former chief executive of
Powergen (now
E.ON UK
E.ON UK is a British energy company and the largest supplier of energy and renewable electricity in the UK, following its acquisition of Npower. It is a subsidiary of E.ON of Germany and one of the Big Six energy suppliers. It was founded in ...
) was appointed part-time interim chair of the ONR on its formation,
resigning as a
non-executive director
A non-executive director (abbreviated to non-exec, NED or NXD), independent director or external director is a member of the board of directors of a corporation, such as a company, cooperative or non-government organization, but not a member of the ...
of
Scottish and Southern Energy
SSE plc (formerly Scottish and Southern Energy plc) is a multinational energy company headquartered in Perth, Scotland
Perth (Scottish English, locally: ; gd, Peairt ) is a city in central Scotland, on the banks of the River Tay. It is th ...
. On 21 February 2019, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions announced Mark McAllister would succeed Nick Baldwin CBE as Chair of the Board. Mark McAllister began his five-year appointment as ONR Chair from 1 April 2019.
The ONR Board oversees the operation of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the Chief Nuclear Inspector (CNI). John Jenkins, who was CEO from 20102 to 2015, resigned from his post on 28 February 2015 and was replaced by Les Philpott on 1 March 2015 as the Interim Chief Executive. Adriènne Kelbie was appointed Chief Executive and took up the appointment on 18 January 2016.
In October 2017 Mark Foy was appointed Chief Nuclear Inspector; he was previously the Deputy Chief Nuclear Inspector.
New leadership arrangements commenced on 1 June 2021 which saw Mark Foy become ONR’s combined Chief Executive and Chief Nuclear Inspector.
As of 2021 it had about 650 staff and a budget of £95.05 million which was largely cost-recovered from users with a 2% grant from the DWP.
Generic Design Assessment process
Following the 2006 Energy review the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate developed the Generic Design Assessment process (GDA), now operated by ONR, to assess new nuclear reactor designs ahead of site-specific proposals. The GDA initially started assessing four designs:
*Westinghouse
AP1000
The AP1000 is a nuclear power plant designed and sold by Westinghouse Electric Company. The plant is a pressurized water reactor with improved use of passive nuclear safety and many design features intended to lower its capital cost and improve ...
*Areva
EPR
*CANDU
ACR-1000
*GE-Hitachi
ESBWR
However the ACR-1000 and ESBWR were subsequently withdrawn from the assessment for commercial reasons, leaving the EPR and AP1000 as contenders for British new nuclear builds.
Assessment of the AP1000 was suspended in December 2011 at Westinghouse's request, awaiting a firm UK customer before addressing issues raised by the assessment.
In 2012 Hitachi
() is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Ni ...
purchased Horizon Nuclear Power
Horizon Nuclear Power is a British Energy industry, energy company that was expected to build new nuclear power stations in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2009, with its head office in Gloucester, and is now owned by Hitachi.
On 17 Ja ...
, announcing intent to build two to three 1,350 MWe Advanced Boiling Water Reactor
The advanced boiling water reactor (ABWR) is a Generation III boiling water reactor. The ABWR is currently offered by GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) and Toshiba. The ABWR generates electrical power by using steam to power a turbine connected ...
s (ABWR) on both of Horizon's sites. The GDA was agreed in April 2013.
In August 2014 Westinghouse resumed the AP1000 assessment, after Toshiba
, commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure system ...
and ENGIE
Engie SA is a French multinational utility company, headquartered in La Défense, Courbevoie, which operates in the fields of energy transition, electricity generation and distribution, natural gas, nuclear, renewable energy and petroleum. ...
purchased NuGeneration
NuGeneration (NuGen) was a company that planned to build a new nuclear power station nearby the Sellafield nuclear site in the United Kingdom. The proposed site was called '' Moorside'', and is to the north and west of Sellafield. On 8 November ...
and announced plans to develop Moorside Nuclear Power Station with 3 AP1000s. In November 2016 the ONR noted there was a "very large amount of assessment to complete with issues still emerging".
On 30 March 2017 the AP1000
The AP1000 is a nuclear power plant designed and sold by Westinghouse Electric Company. The plant is a pressurized water reactor with improved use of passive nuclear safety and many design features intended to lower its capital cost and improve ...
successfully completed the GDA process, ironically the day after the designer, Westinghouse, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...
because of $9 billion of losses from its nuclear reactor construction projects, mostly the construction of four AP1000 reactors in the U.S.
On 21 September 2015 Energy Secretary Amber Rudd
Amber Augusta Rudd (born 1 August 1963) is a British former politician who served as Home Secretary from 2016 to 2018 and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2018 to 2019. She was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Hastings and Rye, fi ...
announced that a Chinese designed nuclear power station was expected to be built at Bradwell nuclear power station
Bradwell nuclear power station is a decommissioned Magnox-design nuclear power station located on the Dengie peninsula at the mouth of the River Blackwater, Essex. In 2019, it was the first nuclear power station in the UK to be placed into long- ...
.
On 19 January 2017 the GDA process for the Hualong One
The Hualong One ( zh , c=华龙一号 , p=Huálóng yī hào , l=China Dragon №1) is a Chinese Generation III pressurized water nuclear reactor jointly developed by the China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) and the China National Nuclear Cor ...
(HPR1000) started, and successfully finished in February 2022.
The ABWR
The advanced boiling water reactor (ABWR) is a Generation III boiling water reactor. The ABWR is currently offered by GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) and Toshiba. The ABWR generates electrical power by using steam to power a turbine connected ...
GDA process completed successfully in December 2017.
On 1 April 2022, the GDA of the 470 MWe Rolls-Royce SMR
The Rolls-Royce SMR, also known as the UK SMR, is a small modular reactor (SMR) being developed by the Rolls-Royce (RR) company in the United Kingdom.
The company has been given financial support by the UK Government to develop its design. It i ...
started. The assessment will begin once the timescales and resources have been agreed.
Nuclear defence activities
Although the ONR is primarily a civil regulator, the ONR Defence Programme regulates military nuclear and conventional safety across a number of licensed and non-licensed nuclear sites, which are operated for the Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
(MOD) nuclear defence capability. This is carried out under a complex legal regime, in conjunction with MOD’s Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator (DNSR). The ONR does not influence the design of submarine nuclear power plants or nuclear weapons, and does not regulate security or transport of MOD nuclear materials.
ONR responsibility includes assessing the response systems for nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...
accidents at HMNB Clyde
His Majesty's Naval Base, Clyde (HMNB Clyde; also HMS ''Neptune''), primarily sited at Faslane on the Gare Loch, is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth). It ...
and RNAD Coulport
Royal Naval Armaments Depot Coulport, shortened to RNAD Coulport, on Loch Long in Argyll, Scotland, is the storage and loading facility for the nuclear warheads of the United Kingdom's Trident programme.
The base, near the village of Coulport ...
, in Argyll
Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland.
Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...
, Scotland.
Since about 2013 the ONR has given the two major Atomic Weapons Establishment
The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) is a United Kingdom Ministry of Defence research facility responsible for the design, manufacture and support of warheads for the UK's nuclear weapons. It is the successor to the Atomic Weapons Research ...
(AWE) sites enhanced regulatory attention due to "safety and compliance concerns, and the continued undertaking of operations in ageing facilities due to delays to the delivery of modern standard replacement facilities." The ONR anticipated AWE would move back to normal regulatory attention in 2021 after the new facilities are completed.
See also
*Nuclear power in the United Kingdom
Nuclear power in the United Kingdom generated 16.1% of the country's electricity in 2020. , the UK has 9 operational nuclear reactors at five locations (8 advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGR) and one pressurised water reactor (PWR)), producing 5. ...
References
External links
*
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