DEVELOPING A FIT-FOR-PURPOSE APPROACH TO THE REGULATION OF EXTERNAL HAZARDS IN THE UK FOR THE NEW NUCLEAR REACTOR BUILD PROGRAMME

摘要

External hazards as a nuclear technical discipline has matured significantly since the last nuclear reactor build programme in the UK, in the 1980s and '90s. In part this is because of improved understanding of these hazards and their potential implications for nuclear safety, but it is also a response to a number of external hazards initiated nuclear safety challenges, most notably in March 2011 at Fukushima Dai-ichi in Japan. In addition, the UK Government recently made a policy decision to positively encourage the construction of new nuclear reactors. New nuclear reactor projects in the UK accommodate consideration of external hazards as a mainstream part of the design process, so the advent of these projects has led to a substantial increase in the demand for external hazards Suitably Qualified and Experienced Person (SQEP) resource within Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) to assess the adequacy of safety submissions for new nuclear reactor sites. This has prompted a re-consideration of the most appropriate way for a modern nuclear regulator, such as the ONR in the UK, to regulate in the external hazards technical area. This paper describes how the ONR now organises itself to assess external hazards safety submissions for new nuclear reactor build projects and describes the resource model currently being applied to the most advanced new build site in the UK at Hinkley Point C, which is owned and operated by EDF Energy Nuclear New Build Generation Company Ltd (NNB GenCo). The model provides the vehicle for applying ONR's regulatory processes, including how various types of skilled resources are deployed and identifies the important interfaces with other technical disciplines. Finally, the paper describes how the model will be developed for use at other new build sites in the UK.