New nuclear power plants can proceed as planned, finds Government-commissioned report

Dr Michael Weightman's final report (315-page / 6.4MB PDF) to Government on the future of the nuclear industry also said that there was no need to scale back existing nuclear sites, as long as nuclear operators continued to follow the "founding principle of continuous improvement".

However the crisis at Japan's Fukushima plant earlier this year reinforced the need to pursue decommissioning of former nuclear sites with "utmost vigour and determination", he said.

The report was a response to a formal request from Energy Secretary Chris Huhne on the implications of the Fukushima explosion for the nuclear industry in the UK. An interim report, containing 26 recommendations, was published in May.

Additional information received since the interim report and Weightman's own visit to the Fukushima site, had reinforced and further validated the findings of the interim report, the Government said.

The final report contained additional recommendations that regulators, Government and industry review the robustness of emergency control structures and systems. The industry should review available techniques for providing real-time information on radioactive activity in an emergency, it said. The Government should similarly review its procedures for predicting public and environmental impact.

It added that the current system of periodic safety reviews, which must take place at licensed nuclear sites at least every ten years, provided a "robust" means of ensuring continuous improvement in line with advances in technology and standards.

The new Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) will further enhance confidence in the UK's regulatory regime, it said.

The report also expanded the scope of the interim report to non-generating sites such as the nuclear reprocessing site at Sellafield in Cumbria.

Energy law expert Paul Rice of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that the wider industry would welcome the "increased certainty" surrounding the report.

"This is a very welcome step forward for the nuclear industry and its regulators - not just for the new-build industry, but for existing nuclear power stations and those going through the process of decommissioning," he said.

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne described decommissioning as a "national priority".

"The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is making tangible, demonstrable progress in addressing these national priorities. It is the NDA's top priority, and we have ensured that their work in this area is not limited by funding constraints," he said.

The current design assessment process for new nuclear reactors had already been extended to give regulators and the industry time to take into account the findings of both reports, Huhne said. Regulators should be in a position to take a decision on the generic design for new nuclear power stations in the UK "by the end of the year".

"The report makes clear that the UK has one of the best nuclear safety regimes in the world and that nuclear power can go on powering homes and businesses across the UK, as well as supporting jobs. We must, however, continue to improve where we can, not just with operating power stations and new sites but by dealing with our nuclear legacy in a robust and effective manner too," said Huhne.

In a written ministerial statement, Huhne said that there were overlaps between the recommendations in Weightman's reports and the initial findings of EU-wide 'stress tests' also conducted in response to the events at Fukushima. EU stress tests will continue into next year, he said.

The Government will respond to Weightman's recommendations in more detail by the end of the year.