Nuclear sites: environmental regulation
How the Environment Agency regulates the different types of nuclear sites and protects people and the environment.
Applies to England
Different activities take place at nuclear sites including:
- generating electricity
- decommissioning (cleaning up) sites that are no longer in use
- managing and disposing of waste – radioactive and other waste
- research and development
- nuclear fuel production
- defence related activities such as the maintenance of nuclear-powered submarines
- building new nuclear power stations
The Environment Agency is the independent environmental regulator for the nuclear industry in England. We make sure that nuclear companies and the sites they operate meet high standards of environmental protection throughout the stages of:
- design and construction
- operation
- decommissioning
Regulating nuclear sites with environmental permits
Operators of nuclear sites in England must have a permit for radioactive substances activities from the Environment Agency. The environmental permits we issue to nuclear site operators contain strict conditions (rules) that they must follow at all times. We set specific limits on what they are allowed to release when carrying out certain activities, including:
- managing or disposing of radioactive waste
- making discharges to air and water
Permit conditions are designed to make sure that the operator’s activities do not harm people or the environment. The conditions will also specify that operators must use the best available techniques to minimise the amount of:
- radioactive waste produced
- radioactivity discharged
The Environment Agency carries out checks to make sure that operators do not release radioactivity above the limits set in their permit conditions.
The Environment Agency also regulates other activities that require an environmental permit. This includes activities on the nuclear site (or an associated site) that could:
- pollute the air, water or land
- increase flood risk
- adversely affect land drainage
We also regulate some activities related to new nuclear developments and construction sites for nuclear facilities.
Protecting vulnerable species and habitats
The Environment Agency will carry out assessments to check whether nuclear sites could have a significant negative effect on protected species such as migratory fish or birds, or on protected areas nearby. This includes carrying out a full Habitats Regulations Assessment where appropriate.
The Environment Agency must make sure that activities carried out under an environmental permit will not have a negative effect on vulnerable species and habitats or contribute to their loss.
You can find out more about our permitting process in guidance about:
Providing information and advice
The Environment Agency provides information and advice to help other organisations make decisions about nuclear sites. This includes information about what the environment around a nuclear site is like. It could be for a developer, an operator or the Planning Inspectorate.
We also advise on what the:
- developer of a site should cover in their environmental impact assessment
- flood or coastal risks might be for a nuclear site or any associated developments
- developer or operator would need to provide to support any applications for an environmental permit
Consultations and engaging with stakeholders
The Environment Agency responds to nuclear related consultations run by government, developers and local councils. This could be for:
- an application for a development consent order by a developer
- a government review of the national infrastructure planning policy for nuclear sites
Nuclear regulators from the Environment Agency regularly attend and make reports to site stakeholder groups, other site meetings and public events.
We also consult with the public about environmental permit applications we have received for nuclear sites or other related activities. We believe that understanding and listening to the views of local people is important. We will address any consultation responses we receive in the ‘decision document’ we publish once the consultation has ended.
To find out more about how we consult, you can:
- look up information about permit applications on the public register
- read the Environment Agency’s public participation statement
New nuclear power stations
Assessing new nuclear power station designs
The Environment Agency, Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and Natural Resources Wales are working together to make sure that any new nuclear power stations built in the UK meet high standards of:
- safety
- security
- environmental protection
- waste management
The Environment Agency and ONR have developed a process called Generic Design Assessment (GDA). They use this to scrutinise new nuclear power stations at an early stage. This is before a developer has formed detailed proposals for building at a specific site or applied for licences or permits.
The GDA process can help us identify potential design or technical concerns early on and we can then ask the designer to resolve them.
Permitting new nuclear power stations
Any company that wants to build and operate a new nuclear power station must get site specific permissions from the nuclear regulators. These include:
- a nuclear site licence and relevant consents from ONR
- environmental permits from the Environment Agency
The Environment Agency is responsible for issuing a range of environmental permits for:
- constructing and operating nuclear power stations
- relevant ‘associated developments’ such as workers’ accommodation
These permits cover activities such as:
- radioactive substances
- cooling water discharges
- operating back-up generators
- site investigation works such as drilling boreholes
- abstracting groundwater for dewatering in order to carry out ground investigations
- discharging treated effluents and sewage
- mobile diesel electricity generators
The Environment Agency will decide if they should issue a permit and, if so, what conditions should apply. Read about the Environment Agency’s regulation of:
- Hinkley Point C
- the proposed Sizewell C
Advanced Nuclear Technologies
The Environment Agency is working with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) on Advanced Nuclear Technologies.
Together with ONR, we have been supporting a range of tasks in a BEIS research and development programme for Small Modular Reactors and Advanced Modular Reactors.
We have provided this support as part of:
- our statutory role in implementing the environmental permitting regime in England
- the start of a reactor design assessment process for these modular reactors
During this work, the Environment Agency and ONR have updated the GDA process and written new guidance to make sure it is suitable for future reactor designs.
Decommissioning
The Environment Agency regulates the management and disposal of the radioactive waste from nuclear sites in decommissioning (being cleaned up because they are no longer in use). We do this through our environmental permitting and inspection activities.
We advise on national issues such as developing national strategies and policies for decommissioning and clean up, and for managing radioactive waste. We do this working with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, other regulators and site operators.
Most of the waste from decommissioning and clean-up only has low levels of radioactivity and will be made up of things like:
- demolition rubble
- scrap metal
- foundations
- drains and pipelines
- soil
All of this waste needs to be managed safely and disposed of somewhere suitable. This might be on the site that produced the waste, or it might be transported to another waste disposal site such as the Low Level Waste Repository.
The Environment Agency has produced guidance for operators who are decommissioning nuclear sites.
We have also produced guidance about our role in developing and regulating a geological disposal facility for radioactive waste.
Monitoring radioactivity in the environment
Monitoring radioactivity around nuclear sites helps to assess whether they are having any effect on people and the environment and to provide reassurance to the public. The Environment Agency carries out independent monitoring of nuclear sites in addition to the monitoring carried out by the nuclear site operators.
Find out more about monitoring radioactivity in the environment.
The results of the independent monitoring programme are published annually in the Radioactivity in food and the environment reports.
Our work at specific nuclear sites
Find out more about the Environment Agency’s work at:
- Hinkley Point A, B and C
- Sizewell A and B and the proposed development Sizewell C
- Sellafield
- the Low Level Waste Repository
Contact us
For enquiries, or to sign up for the Environment Agency’s nuclear regulation e-bulletin, email nuclear@environment-agency.gov.uk.