ONR is pleased to announce that there are no longer hazards at the Bradwell nuclear licensed site that require it to have a local authority off-site emergency plan as defined by REPPIR.
The Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2001, (REPPIR) require operators, in this case Magnox, to assess the hazards on site and submit a report of this assessment to ONR. This information, along with any additional information ONR may request, is used to determine the need for, and the extent of, the area requiring the local authority to produce an off-site emergency plan to protect the public in the unlikely event of a radiation emergency.
ONR specialist assessors have concluded that as the plant is no longer producing power and the reactor and the ponds no longer contain fuel, it is no longer reasonably foreseeable for a radiation emergency to occur at Bradwell.
George Sallit, ONR Deputy Chief Inspector, said, "Today's announcement that a REPPIR off-site emergency planning area is no longer required around the Bradwell nuclear site is a very positive development and means that ONR is satisfied that members of the public are no longer at risk from a reasonably foreseeable radiation emergency."
Essex County Council, local authorities within the local area of the site and Magnox Ltd still have other general legal duties to protect the public and have emergency arrangements in place. These include local authorities' emergency services' and health bodies' duties under the Civil Contingencies Act, general duties on the operator under the Health and Safety at Work Act, and more specific duties relating to emergency arrangements and contingency planning under nuclear site licence conditions, and the Ionising Radiations Regulations.
A copy of the project assessment report, which gives the details of how the decision was reached, is available to read on this website, as are the letters sent to Essex County Council and Magnox Ltd advising them of ONR's decision.