ONR Chief Executive Officer, John Jenkins and Chief Nuclear Inspector, Andy Hall, appeared before the Parliamentary Select Committee on Energy and Climate Change on Tuesday 22 July, to provide evidence on the potential role for small nuclear power reactors in the UK.Small reactors are defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (and in this inquiry) as reactors with an equivalent electrical power of less than 300 MW.
Andy Hall explained how ONR would, if requested, assess a new small nuclear reactor design, and the challenges this would pose. John Jenkins explained how ONR was meeting the demand for regulatory resource resulting from new nuclear and demographics within ONR.The Chair, the Rt Hon Tim Yeo, noted the high regard in which ONR is held internationally, remarking that our regulatory system is considered to be the "gold standard" and expressed his admiration for ONR's reputation, stating that "your organisation is a great asset to the UK."
After the hearing Andy Hall said:
“ONR welcomes the opportunity to give evidence to the Select Committee inquiry on small nuclear. We would expect to engage in the process of assessing small reactor designs only after being requested to do so by Government. We have no position on what types of reactors are built in the UK, as long as these meet the safety and security standards that are required by law.”
The evidence provided to the Select Committee is available as a webcast on Parliamentary TV.
Article credit: Copyright SUF © 2013