Form

Guidance for part RSR‐E4: Surrender a RSR unsealed sources permit

Updated 12 August 2026

Applies to England

Who the guidance is for and why

This guidance is for holders of an environmental permit for radioactive substances activities on a non-nuclear site – meaning a site that is not a nuclear licensed site. It sets out how to complete form part RSR-E4 for surrender of all or part of a permit for keeping or use of unsealed radioactive sources and disposal of radioactive waste.

Do not use this form if your application for surrender relates to a landfill or other radioactive waste disposal facility where radioactive waste is disposed of by burial. Speak to your Environment Agency regulator about what to do in these circumstances.

Partial surrender includes:

• reducing the permit site boundary
• removing a radioactive substances activity from your permit while continuing to operate others

For more guidance on how to comply with your radioactive substances regulation (RSR) environmental permit, see the Environment Agency’s How to comply guidance.

Where you see ‘document reference’ on the form, give the document identifiers and send the documents with your completed application form.

1. About the permit

1a. What is the permit number that this application relates to?

Tell us the reference number of the permit that you want to surrender fully or in part.

1b. Are you applying to surrender all or part of the permit?

If you want to give up your permit entirely, that is full surrender. To do this you must:

• have stopped the radioactive substances activities authorised by the permit
• have disposed of all radioactive substances from the site
• satisfy us about the condition of the site

If you want to reduce the size of the regulated facility, that is a partial surrender. You will need to enclose a revised plan of the site with part RSR‐A. To surrender your permit for part of your site, you must:

• have stopped all radioactive substances activities on that part of the site
• have disposed of all radioactive substances from that part of the site
• satisfy us about the condition of that part of the site

Partial surrender can also include stopping some radioactive substances activities while continuing to carry on others.

1d. Please provide evidence that all unsealed sources and radioactive waste covered by the permit or part of the permit being surrendered have been removed from site

You must demonstrate that all radioactive material has been removed and all radioactive waste has been disposed of from the site including any contamination or activation products.

Evidence for this could include full accountancy records of all unsealed radioactive materials and records of final waste consignments, or in absence of this, appropriate surveys.

For more guidance on suitable evidence, see the associated surrender guidance. 

1e. If you are applying to surrender your application because you can operate under an exemption, please include a summary explaining why this is the case

For further details on exemptions, see the guidance on Scope of and exemptions from the radioactive substances legislation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

If you are unsure, speak to your local regulator or your radioactive waste adviser.

1f. Please confirm that all signage referring to the radioactive material and waste covered by the permit or part of the permit being surrendered has been removed

Once you are ready to surrender your permit or part of your permit, you should also remove any signage indicating the presence of radioactive material and waste.

2. About the surrender

2a. Please provide a short summary of the activities that have been carried out under the permit or part of the permit being surrendered and where these activities have taken place on the site

Provide a narrative summary of the history of radioactive substance use on the site over the lifetime of the facility. You should identify all areas on the site where radioactive substance activities have occurred, including disposal routes such as drain runs, for example through the use of a site map. You should highlight any areas where long‑lived radionuclides were used, stored or disposed of.

You should have the appropriate records to be able to do this. In absence of appropriate records, you may be able to use Environment Agency records. You may be charged if you seek regulatory advice, guidance or use Environment Agency records.

The length and detail of this summary should be proportionate to the scale and complexity of the activities that have been carried out on the site.

2b. Describe with evidence the measures you have taken to avoid a pollution risk from unsealed sources and radioactive waste covered by the permit or part of the permit being surrendered

See the associated surrender guidance for further details.

2c. How have you recorded any instances of contamination from unsealed sources and radioactive waste covered by the permit or part of the permit being surrendered?

Tell us about your arrangements for:

• recording contamination events such as spillages or other incidents that occurred with unsealed sources and radioactive waste
• recording actions taken to remediate the situation and the results of those actions
• maintaining those records over the lifetime of your operations under the permit

2d. Describe with evidence the measures you have taken to return the site to a satisfactory state having regard to the state of the site before the facility was put into operation, insofar as it is affected by the unsealed sources and radioactive waste covered by the permit or part of the permit being surrendered

See the associated surrender guidance for further details.

3. About the partial surrender

3c. Please provide details of the proposed partial surrender

Provide a document setting out the details of the proposed partial surrender. You should use form part RSR‐B4 as a guide to structuring your document. You can use the tables directly from form part RSR-B4.

You’ll need to tell us:

• how the work with radioactive substances will be carried out in future
• how you think the permit should be changed

Where you describe how the permit should be changed, include as appropriate:

• which of the currently permitted justified practices should appear on the permit
• suitable limits on sources and disposals
• which of the currently permitted waste types, disposal outlets and disposal routes should appear on the permit

The changes made to your permit will be limited to those directly associated with the partial surrender. If you wish to make other changes to your permit that are unrelated to the partial surrender, you should apply using form part RSR-B4.

For partial surrenders, you need to enclose a revised plan of the site with form part RSR‐A of your application.