Nuclear Industry
Whether you are opposed to nuclear power or in favour of it, nuclear power stations currently provide a quarter of the electricity we use in our homes and businesses.
A complex industry surrounds power stations, to manage and support their work. It includes businesses that make fuel for power stations and those managing the radioactive waste they produce.
As well as power stations we also have nuclear reactors powering Royal Navy submarines and some nuclear weapons are also manufactured in the UK.
There are 33 licensed nuclear sites in England and Wales. They are regularly inspected by the Health and Safety Executive, who are in charge of regulating all aspects of nuclear safety on them. These pages contain information about our regulation of the nuclear industry:
- Incidents involving radioactivity
- New nuclear power stations
- Regulations and guidance for licensed site operators
- Charges for nuclear operators
- Radioactive substances application forms
- Managing nuclear waste
- Monitoring and assessment of the nuclear industry
- Environmental performance of the nuclear industry
- Incidents involving radioactivity
- How we work with others
- Seeking your views - how we consult with the public and other groups
- Useful info and what's new - legislation and guidance changes
- Our roles in regulation of the nuclear sector
The Environment Agency’s role
We oversee how the 33 sites dispose of their radioactive waste by granting site authorisations to the operators who run them. Operators of these sites must have an authorisation from us to dispose of their waste. These authorisations set out limits and conditions on the amount and way they dispose of their waste and cover all radioactive waste disposals including discharges to air and water, and transfers of wastes for incineration or disposal to land.
It is also our responsibility to check up on sites to ensure they’re not exceeding their limits and releasing as little radioactive waste as possible into the environment. As well as the nuclear industry, we also oversee other organisations that use radioactive substances including universities, hospitals and factories.
- Read our strategy for regulating radioactive substances.
This document sets the direction of our work for 2006-2011.
Visit these websites to find out more about the nuclear industry and nuclear decomissioning:
