1. IAEA General Conference Regulatory Cooperation Forum Regulatory Approach Prescriptive vs Performance Based David Senior Executive Director - Assurance, Policy & International

2. Content Key Aspects of UK Nuclear Safety Regulation
Nuclear Site Licence
Licence Condition compliance
Regulator (ONR) Core Functions
Law, ALARP & Relevant Good Practice
Risk
Enabling Regulation approach

3. Key Aspects of UK Nuclear Safety Regulation
Enshrined in primary legislation:
The Energy Act – Created ONR, legal vires and responsibilities
Nuclear Installations Act – Requires licence and allows conditions to be attached
Health and Safety at Work Act – Duty of employers to workers and public
Licensee & Nuclear Site Licence:
ONR powers are primarily focused on the Nuclear Site Licensee
ONR largely regulates via Licence Conditions (36)
Licensee must have effective oversight & control of all its activities

4. The Nuclear Site Licence

5. Licence Condition compliance
ONR attaches 36 standard Licence Conditions to each licences, requiring adequate arrangements covering many topics
Arrangements to comply with licence conditions:
proportionate & pragmatic approach
phased definition to reflect stage of development
rolled out & implemented

6. ONR Core Functions
Inspect and evaluate safety & security culture and performance of duty holders, against legal requirements and national/international standards
Influencing duty holders to develop through life strategies that deliver sustained good practice and safety/security performance
Permitting operator activities, ensuring duty holders achieving UK legal standard
Improving the regulatory framework
Engage, inform, advise and consult duty holders and stakeholders
Enforcing the law

7. Law UK Health & Safety Legislation Health & safety at Work Act (1974)
protect employees so far as is reasonably practicable
protect others who may be affected so far as is reasonably practicable
Legal requirement is to reduce risks So Far As Is Reasonably Practicable (SFAIRP)
SFAIRP = Risks ALARP – key element of much of UK safety legislation

8. ALARP Justification Licensees should: ONR will :
Demonstrate it is reasonable for nuclear safety
Start with Relevant Good Practice(s) identify any shortfalls
Consider if it is reasonably practicable to go further
Weigh the pros and cons of various options, rather than provide a one-sided justification
Apply good and informed engineering judgement
ONR will :
Assess using guidance (NS-TAST-GD-005)
Not tell the industry what to do

9. Relevant Good Practice
IAEA Safety Standards
WENRA Reference Levels
British, ISO, IEC, EC (etc) Standards
Industry / Sector standards
ONR Safety Assessment Principles
ONR Technical Guidance
Approved Codes of Practice

10. ONR Criteria for the Tolerability of Risk
New facilities must meet BSLs
High gross disproportion
Long term plan needed
Unacceptable region
Tolerable Region
Normal regulatory business
Expectation for new facilities
Policy is not to focus here
Broadly acceptable 10

11. Enabling Regulation Regulators’ Code (Apr 2014). Regulators should:
Support compliance and growth
Avoid unnecessary burdens, provide advice and guidance to meet requirements
Base regulatory activities on risk
Review effectiveness of activities in delivering desired outcomes, and review
A collaborative approach with duty holders, and other relevant stakeholders:
Clear understanding of the need
Establish a common purpose, take all factors into account (proportionately)
Right behaviors with aim to remove blockers
Seek effective delivery against clear, prioritised safety/security outcomes.
ONR as a legally empowered regulator will be robust in upholding the law, using regulatory enforcement to hold to account

12. Conclusions
Goal Setting/Non Prescriptive regulation delivers high standards of nuclear safety
Reinforces Licensee responsibility for nuclear safety
The concept and use of “reasonably practicable” is well established
Combines risk/cost balancing (with gross disproportion) and relevant good practice (accepted standards, codes etc)
Is flexible and can be used in situations where there are no absolute RGPs covering the totality – e.g NPP

13. THANK YOU