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Mobile radioactive apparatus and company licences

Date released
30 August 2024
Request number
202407032
Release of information under
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)

Information requested

I hereby submit a FOIR for your consideration and answers…

  1. Can you provide me with the company addresses and main telephone numbers of all companies in England, Wales, Scotland & Northern Ireland that keep or use mobile radioactive apparatus that contain sealed sources, including sealed sources in source category 5?
  2. What is the total capacity GBq / mCi covered on each licence?
  3. What is the current capacity of GBq / mCi on each licence?
  4. Can you provide me with the contact information of the Radiation Safety Officer at each of these companies?

Information released

We confirm that under s.1 of the FOIA, we hold some of the information relevant to your request. Please see below for our response.

Under the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 (IRR17) ONR consents the performing of work with Higher Activity Sealed Sources (HASS) on nuclear premises and we must also be notified of all work with lower activity sources. More information can be found on our IRR17 processes on our website.

Regarding the information we hold in relation to parts 1 and 2 of your request, we have considered the public interest test under the following exemption of the FOIA: s. 24 Safeguarding national security.

S.24 of the FOIA sets out the exemption from the right to know where the information requested is required for the purposes of safeguarding national security. It works to protect national security, which includes protection of potential targets. It allows a public authority not to disclose information if it considers releasing the information would make the UK or its citizens more vulnerable to a national security threat.

However, as s.24 of the FOIA is a qualified exemption, we are required to balance the public interest between disclosure and non-disclosure. We have therefore applied the public interest test and have set out factors for and against disclosure below.

In relation to part 3 of your request, we consider each consent separately, and therefore there is no maximum capacity. 

In relation to part 4 of your request for contact information, we are refusing your request as this is personal data such as names and job titles. Release of each of this type of information co identify the individual either directly or indirectly. The personal data has been withheld using the exemption s.40(2)  of the FOIA.

Release of the information would breach principle (a) of GDPR (lawfulness, fairness and transparency) on the grounds that there is no lawful basis to process this data. In addition, releasing this personal data would also breach principle (b) of GDPR (purpose limitation) as the data was provided for the purposes of regulatory reporting. 

Finally, under our duty to provide advice and assistance under s.16  of the FOIA, we would like to clarify that the information we hold only relates to nuclear-licensed sites. Employers working with ionising radiation may need to apply to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to notify, register or obtain consent for the work. Additionally, the Environment Agency issues environmental permits to organisations in England and Wales working with radioactive substances. Similar systems exist in Scotland via the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and Northern Ireland via the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) .

We therefore advise that you may wish to contact HSE and the environmental agencies in each of the devolved administrations who may hold the information you are seeking in relation to non-nuclear licensed sites.

Exemptions applied

s.24, s.40

PIT (Public Interest Test) if applicable

Factors for disclosure

  • ONR is committed to being an open and transparent regulator. We will use openness and transparency to achieve our objective of developing and maintaining stakeholder trust in ONR as an effective independent regulator;
  • The public have a vested interest in issues related to the nuclear industry, facilitating accountability and transparency; and,
  • Issues related to the nuclear industry are subject to close scrutiny and debate, therefore there is a public interest in information related to nuclear activities and the release of such information.

Factors against disclosure

  • Information that relates to the purposes of safeguarding national security and which may be of use to terrorists and other hostile actors is exempt from disclosure. Disclosure of all of the company names and addresses where work with ionising radiation is carried out, as well as where Higher Activity Sealed Sources (HASS) and other radioactive sources are located, could provide an adversary with information that enables them to develop intelligence. This may assist hostile or malicious actors in carrying out threats or attacks against ONR’s dutyholders, the nuclear industry, or the public at large;
  • Disclosure of the information relating to the quantities of radioactive material (GBq/mCi) in any particular location, would make the UK and its citizens more vulnerable to a national security threat and a potential radiological emergency;
  • S.24(1) makes it clear that there need be no evidence that an attack is imminent for this exemption to be applied; and,
  • Adversaries or hostile actors can be highly motivated and may go to great lengths to gather separate pieces of intelligence to attempt to expose vulnerabilities.

Conclusion

After careful consideration of the factors set out above, we have concluded that the specific information requested in parts 1 and 2 of your request that ONR holds should be withheld. There is a strong public interest in safeguarding national security. The interests of national security should be given significant weight in the above factors against disclosure and outweigh the need for openness in terms of these specific types of information.