Part of HSE’s report into the potential construction of two nuclear power stations in the UK has highlighted some safety issues.

A report by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has suggested that the design for the build of some potential nuclear power stations may not be safe.

In its Step 3 report regarding the General Design Assessment (GDA) of nuclear power station designs put forward by France’s EDF/AREVA and America’s Westinghouse, the HSE outlined its concerns:

“We continue to believe that the UK EPR could be suitable for construction on licensed sites in the UK. However, we have identified a significant number of issues with the safety features of the design that would first have to be progressed. If these are not progressed satisfactorily then we would not issue a ‘Design Acceptance Confirmation’ at the end of GDA Step 4.”

Kevin Allars, HSE’s Director of New Build GDA, explained the issues and next steps: “These are, in effect, mid-point progress reports on our assessment of both designs. Although we have made good progress, initial resource shortages in some technical areas and insufficient information from the design companies in others, has limited the extent of assessment sampling that we have been able to do.

“There is still a significant amount of detailed assessment work for us to do and we now have the technical specialists we need to carry out our assessment. We are now at the stage where we are identifying issues that will either need to be resolved by the design companies, or plans put in place to resolve them.”

Areva was confident that the investigation will overall find confidence in its reactor, and stated: “It is entirely expected for issues to be identified prior to licensing and construction. This is a normal and expected part of what is a very transparent process.

“Safety is the key focus in the EPR™ reactor design that benefits from real construction experience and related advanced design status. It meets the highest safety standards worldwide. AREVA is committed to providing answers to the issues noted in the report within the timescale agreed.”

The HSE, in conjunction with joint regulator the Environment Agency, expects to complete the GDA by June 2011. This process has been in progress for 3.5 years. Step 4 will then commence – to help determine whether the plans will meet UK regulatory requirements.

The GDA reports can be viewed at: www.hse.gov.uk/newreactors, where comments from the public are welcomed.