Today, we welcome the publication of a key review of operational safety performance at Sizewell B, published by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the UK government. The report highlights areas of good practice and recommendations for improvements in operational safety, which we fully support.
The report follows a three-week mission by an Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) from the IAEA that reviewed operations at the power station in October last year. An OSART mission is conducted by a team of international experts who conduct an in-depth review of operational safety performance at nuclear power plants.
Although the focus of the mission was the licensee, EDF Energy, our inspectors provided assistance to the international team in understanding our regulation of operations at the station, and provided a response to the initial findings of the mission from a regulatory perspective.
Mark Foy, Programme Director for Operational Facilities said:
"We expect all nuclear site licensees to strive for continuous improvement in nuclear safety, and we recognise the benefits that international benchmarking offers to the sites that we regulate in the UK. We welcome the areas highlighted as good practice, including the Periodic Safety Review required as part of one of our licence conditions, and we welcome the licensee’s (EDF Energy) commitment to address the recommendations for improvement."
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