The Justification Decision (Generation of Electricity by the EPR Nuclear Reactor) Regulations 2010

• Citation: S.I. 2010/2844
• Sections: 4

Section 1 Title and commencement

These Regulations may be cited as the Justification Decision (Generation of Electricity by the EPR Nuclear Reactor) Regulations 2010 and come into force on the day after the day on which they are made.

Section 2 Interpretation

In these Regulations—

“the 1996 Directive ” means Council Directive 96/29/Euratom laying down basic safety standards for the protection of health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionising radiation ;

“the EPR practice ” means the class or type of practice which is the generation of electricity from nuclear energy using oxide fuel of low enrichment in fissile content in a light water cooled, light water moderated thermal reactor known as EPR designed by Areva NP, and where the specification of that reactor matches that set out in Annex 6C to the document “Consultation on the Nuclear Industry Association’s Application to Justify New Nuclear Power Stations - Volume 3: Appendix B: Annexes to the Application” published in December 2008 by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, URN 08/1507;

“class or type or practice” bears the same meaning as it bears under Article 6(1) of the 1996 Directive;

“justified” in relation to a class or type of practice means justified by its economic, social or other benefits in relation to the health detriment it may cause;

“spent fuel” means nuclear fuel that has been irradiated in and permanently removed from a reactor core.

Section 3 Justification decision

For the purposes of Article 6(1) of the 1996 Directive, subject to regulation 4, the following are justified —

(a) the EPR practice; and

(b) any class or type of practice which is—

(i) a development of the EPR practice; and

(ii) so similar to the EPR practice that the balance of benefits and detriments from that class or type of practice does not materially differ from the balance of benefits and detriments from the EPR practice .

Section 4 Mixed oxide fuel and reprocessing

The justification decision in regulation 3 does not extend to—

(a) the use of mixed oxide fuel in; or

(b) the reprocessing of spent fuel which arises from,

a class or type of practice justified under that regulation.