Areas of good performance and recommendations for strengthening fire protection at nuclear installations were identified at international workshops attended by inspectors from the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR).
Representatives of Britain’s nuclear site licensees also attended the workshops, which were held in Luxembourg in September and October and organised by the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) as part of their second topical peer review (TPR 2).
The workshops fostered dialogue between regulators and industry, enabling participants to benchmark their own performance, improve consistency across countries, and learn from each other.
The European Union’s (EU) revised Nuclear Safety Directive requires member states to undertake national assessments every six years on a specific nuclear safety topic, selected by ENSREG, followed by peer review by other member states.
Following the UK’s departure from the EU, the UK is now an observer at ENSREG and decided to voluntarily take part in TPR 2, with ONR coordinating its response.
The UK National Assessment Report was published in October 2023 and has been peer-reviewed by technical and regulatory experts from across Europe, with UK experts reviewing other countries’ reports in turn. Members of the public have fed back through ENSREG’s consultation process.
The UK’s report concluded that the nuclear installations analysed have appropriate fire safety analysis and fire protection arrangements. ONR also raised recommendations for industry to take forward, including more systematic analysis of hazard combinations and improved integration of fire safety management across different purposes.
Diego Lisbona, ONR’s Head of Profession for Nuclear Internal Hazards and Site Safety, said: “The UK is demonstrating its commitment to openness, transparency, and learning through its continued participation in TPR 2, both from a regulatory and licensee perspective.
“It was encouraging to see the international community confirming the UK’s self-assessment conclusions, as well as recognising areas of good performance, such as how ONR and the UK nuclear industry implement transferable learning from outside the sector.”
The UK’s TPR 2 action plan detailing the country’s next steps will be published in 2025.
Representatives of ONR and UK nuclear site licensees at the TPR 2 workshops.