ONR wrote to AWE earlier this week, giving them permission to proceed further with the construction of a new facility on the Aldermaston site.
This permission marks a significant milestone for AWE in their work to modernise and rebuild the facilities needed for the maintenance of Britain’s nuclear deterrent. It is also the first formal regulatory permission issued by ONR for the new facility, which will be used for the manufacturing of uranium components.
ONR’s permission follows its review of AWE’s pre-construction safety report (PCSR2) for the construction of a new building. It follows AWE’s positive response to a number of recommendations at this stage and recognises the need to resolve some outstanding issues before the next phase of construction.
A Project Assessment Report explaining the work undertaken by ONR in considering AWE’s pre-construction safety report will be published soon.
The project will have to pass a number of further regulatory ‘hold points’ before operations can commence in the facility. A number of detailed design and safety documents will be required and will form the basis of these later stages of regulatory permissioning. These later applications are expected over the next four years.
(Image supplied courtesy of MOD)