Justification Decision (Generation of Electricity by the UK ABWR Nuclear Reactor) Regulations 2015

Baroness Verma Excerpts

Tuesday 27th January 2015 Grand Committee

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[Baroness Verma]

That the Grand Committee do consider the Justification Decision (Generation of Electricity by the UK ABWR Nuclear Reactor) Regulations 2015.

Relevant document: 17th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Baroness Verma) (Con)]

My Lords, on 11 December I laid before the House a draft statutory instrument containing the decision of my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, as justifying authority under the Justification of Practices Involving Ionising Radiation Regulations 2004, that the generation of electricity from the nuclear reactor design known as the UK ABWR—the UK advanced boiling water reactor—is justified. Regulatory justification is one of the regulatory steps which are necessary before new nuclear power stations can be built in the UK. It is based on the recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection which are used around the world as the basis for radiological protection.

These recommendations form the basis of the Euratom basic safety standards directive, which requires member states to ensure that, before any new practice involving ionising radiation—such as a new design of nuclear reactor—can be introduced, it must first undergo a high-level assessment to determine whether its economic, social or other benefits outweigh the health detriment that it may cause. The requirements were implemented into UK law by the 2004 regulations, which provide that a decision on whether to justify a new practice should be taken by the justifying authority—in this case, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State.

The decision follows two public consultations by my department. There was first a consultation on an application from the Nuclear Industry Association for justification of the UK ABWR. Following that, the department last year published a second consultation on a proposed decision that the UK ABWR should be justified. After considering the responses to these consultations, we announced on 11 December our decision that the UK ABWR was justified. Copies of documents setting out detailed reasons for the decision have been deposited in the Library of the House.

In summary, we see a clear need for the generation of electricity by the UK ABWR because of the contribution that it can make through increased security of energy supplies and reduced carbon emissions. One UK ABWR will be able to produce 1,350 megawatts of electrical power for a high proportion of its operating lifespan of 60 years—enough electricity to power 2.5 million homes. Nuclear power has long been a significant source of low-carbon energy and it can continue to contribute to our energy mix. Energy companies are investing significantly in the prospect of new nuclear power stations, including Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy Ltd and Horizon Nuclear Power, which are proposing to build two UK ABWRs at each of the two new nuclear power stations at Wylfa in Anglesey and Oldbury in Gloucestershire.

Beyond direct investment and employment from new nuclear power stations, we can benefit through the development of a globally competitive nuclear supply chain and an improvement in the quality of the UK’s skilled workforce. Against these benefits, there is the potential for detriment, but this potential is small, well understood and guarded against by an established regulatory regime. The radiation dose which members of the public would receive from the normal operation of a UK ABWR on an annual basis would be below detectable risk levels in the context of overall radiation exposure, including medical procedures and background radiation. The safety features of the designs and the regulatory regime, which sets limits on the release of radiation and monitors compliance, will ensure that emissions will be minimised. The risk of health detriment is therefore very low.

Justification decisions apply to the management and disposal of radioactive waste that new nuclear power stations will produce, as well as to their operation. In making our decisions, we are satisfied that the regulatory regime will limit the risk of health detriment from waste management and disposal to very low levels. We are also satisfied that there is a robust process in place to identify a suitable site for a geological disposal facility and are confident that a site will be identified and that a GDF will be built. We also concluded that the possible environmental detriments arising from new nuclear power stations are likely to be avoided or adequately mitigated by the licensing and planning regime.

We considered the risk of detriments arising from an accident or terrorist incident. Such possible detriments already exist, and the risk of such incidents should be seen in the context of the regulatory regime, which is intended to prevent accidents and protect against terrorist attack. We are confident in the regulatory regimes for the safety and security of civil nuclear installations and materials in the UK, and consider that the likelihood of an accident or other incident giving rise to a release of radioactive material is very small.

We have therefore concluded that the significant potential benefits outweigh the potential detriments, and that the generation of electricity by the UK ABWR should be justified. I commend the regulations to the Committee.

[Baroness Worthington (Lab)]

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for introducing these regulations. Obviously, we support the regulations and we see that greater diversity in reactor designs in the UK will be a good thing. We generally support the building of new reactors at the site in Wylfa and believe that it is important for the UK to continue to keep its nuclear capabilities and capacity as we move towards decarbonising our electricity system.

My comment on the process, however, is perhaps more general. This process, which we are required to undertake under Euratom to justify activities involving non-ionising radiation under the 2004 regulations, means that we treat nuclear infrastructure in a very different way from other risks that exist in society. I have a question about what the Government think is the right way forward in terms of balancing risk, when it comes to assessing the role that nuclear power can play as we go forward. My reason for asking is that we have a particular regime for ionising radiation; however, as the noble Baroness pointed out, radiation is a naturally occurring phenomenon and background radiation levels differ greatly around the country.

There is probably now a need for a national conversation about risk and how we deal with it. In this case, nuclear power seems to be being singled out for treatment that is not necessarily commensurate with the scale of risk. I say that because, in aggregate, US climate scientist James Hansen often points out that nuclear has a massively beneficial impact on health in terms of lives saved from avoiding air pollution. That is just one example of the advantages of nuclear power when it is used sustainably and safely. There is a need for a public discourse about our perception of risk, particularly, as in other sectors of the economy we have nowhere near as tight regulation on activities that pose threats to human health. I include among them vehicle emissions and air pollution more generally, and the use of chemicals in our environment, particularly those which have the potential to disrupt endocrine systems. The list is a long one, but in this case we seem to have developed an incredibly detailed system which has a regulatory burden attached to it.

I would simply ask this: do the Government think that we should have a conversation about this, and if so, how would we go about it? As we weigh up the costs of mitigating climate change going forward, it is important that we have a thorough and detailed understanding of the relative risks. On nuclear, my sense is that we need to look at the issue again.

[Baroness Verma]

I am extremely grateful to the noble Baroness for her support for the draft regulations, and of course I agree with her that the sector by its very nature is heavily regulated, and rightly so in order to build confidence. I also agree that the discussions need to be much fuller and more informed, and of course I hope that we will take the opportunity to open that debate going forward. However, perhaps we need to wait until after May to begin so that it can be fully informed by all sides. I accept that what we do not want to do is single out a sector which is helping us to meet our carbon targets. We should not overly prescribe for one sector as against others. Given that, we need to ensure that there is confidence, trust and transparency in the system, so it is right that, until we have had that debate, we should continue in this vein. I am pleased that the noble Baroness has expressed her support and I commend the regulations to the Committee.

Motion agreed.