Licensing and regulatory control of thermal power reactors in the United Kingdom
From principles and standands of reactor safety; Juelich, Germany (Feb 1973). The regulation of nuclear safety in the United Kingdom is governed by the Nuclear Installations Acts 1965 and 1969. The Acts are administered in England and Wales by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and in Scotland by the Secretary of State for Scotland. These Ministers have very wide discretion in the use of their regulatory powers and no body other than the Atomic Energy Authority or a Government Department may construct or operate a nuclear reactor or other prescribed installation without the site being licensed by the responsible Minister. The Ministers are also empowered to attach to a nuclear site license any conditions considered necessary for safety and these conditions can then be legally enforced under statutory penalties. The flexibility of these powers makes it possible to frame conditions appropriate for the protection of operators and the public from ionizing radiations for any of the licensed sites. The Ministers are assisted in the detailed execution of the Act and in framing the conditions attached to site licenses by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate. The experience gained in applying safety controls to nuclear power plants in the United Kingdom is summarized and an outline is given of some of the changes made to meet the problem of regulating a developing and expanding industry. (auth)
- Research Organization:
- Dept. of Trade and Industry, London
- NSA Number:
- NSA-29-020397
- OSTI ID:
- 4331912
- Journal Information:
- J. Inst. Nucl. Eng., v. 14, no. 5, pp. 131-137, Journal Name: J. Inst. Nucl. Eng., v. 14, no. 5, pp. 131-137; ISSN JINEB
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Language:
- English
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