When designing and building nuclear installations in the UK, high safety standards and strict precautions mean that accidents are very rare.
However, all nuclear operators are required to prepare – in consultation with local authorities, the police and other bodies – emergency plans, to protect the public and their workforce, including dealing with an accidental release of radioactivity. These are tested regularly under the supervision of the Office for Nuclear Regulation.
DECC is the lead Government Department for the UK in case of an emergency with off-site effects from a licensed civil nuclear site in England and Wales.
We chair the Nuclear Emergency Planning Liaison Group (NEPLG), which brings together organisations with interests in off-site civil nuclear emergency planning. The NEPLG consolidated guidance, issued to all those involved in developing site-specific emergency plans, reviews the results of off-site exercises to make sure lessons are learned, and improvements continue.
In the event of an emergency at a civil nuclear site in Scotland, the Scottish Parliament has the equivalent responsibilities, although DECC would still be responsible for briefing the Westminster Parliament and the UK's international partners.
You can find more information about DECC’s role in:
DECC also aims to ensure we are fully equipped and prepared to respond, in the unlikely event of an emergency at a civil nuclear site in England and Wales. Our Energy Group is briefed and trained to ensure we can cope effectively in the event of any nuclear emergency. The Group would support the main response effort (coordinated locally by the police), working with other emergency services, expert bodies, and local and national agencies. DECC, meanwhile, would co-ordinate the response at a national level, briefing ministers and the UK's international partners, and issuing information nationally to the public and media.
In the event of a nuclear accident overseas, which may have implications for the UK, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) would be the lead Government Department in managing our response.
Defra also operates the UK's Radioactive Incident Monitoring Network (RIMNET), consisting of some 92 continuous radiation monitoring stations which would automatically raise an alarm if abnormal increases in radiation levels were detected at any of the sites.