Section Menu

• Nuclear Energy Contacts

Review Of The Nuclear Industries Security Regulations (NISR) 2003

The Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003 (NISR 2003) came into force on 22 March 2003, following consultation with the civil nuclear industry. The Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS), part of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), is the security regulator for the civil nuclear industry and enforces these regulations.

The Regulations were designed to provide a clear, unified regime for setting requirements for nuclear security and for assessing compliance with its requirements. As well as strengthening the regime in force at the time, the overall aim was to provide a single, comprehensive legislative basis for regulation rather than to introduce new requirements. The main changes introduced by the Regulations were the direct regulation of the transport of nuclear material (which was previously regulated indirectly through obligations on the nuclear operators) and the inclusion of a very small number of small scale licensed nuclear facilities and other locations where nuclear material is held (which had previously fallen outside formal security regulation).

When the Regulations were laid in 2003, we made a commitment within paragraph 10 of the Regulatory Impact Assessment (see 'Related Documents') to formally review the new regulatory framework three years after its introduction. A review has been conducted, which closed on 1st December 2006.

In the main, the majority of respondents to the review were content with the Regulations and saw the positive benefits stemming from their introduction. Respondents felt that the main benefits were:

• the provision of a clear security framework
• everyone has to meet the same standards
• a clearer understanding of responsibilities
• a mechanism to demonstrate to stakeholders that appropriate security measures have been taken
• provision of a single reference point for security issues
• improved process for assessing the proposed standard of security for Category I & II nuclear material during transportation.

Some respondents also made suggestions on improvements, which, as part of a separate consultation, were subsequently addressed by the 2006 amendment to the Regulations. For example, one respondent suggested that Sensitive Nuclear Information might be better defined in the NISR. Another respondent suggested that the Regulations should cover other interested parties, such as the NDA.

The majority of issues raised by respondents were company/organisation specific, and not industry-wide. We also noted that some comments were made relating to processes and procedures, rather than on the Regulations themselves. The Office for Civil Nuclear Security have viewed and noted these comments.

Overall, it was felt that the current balance of the Regulations is right, with no excessive and undue burdens placed on industry. There was nothing significant in the feedback from respondents to suggest that any immediate amendments to the Regulations need to take place.