Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA)

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is responsible for overseeing the decommissioning and clean-up of the UK's civil, public nuclear sites, including Chapelcross, Dounreay and Hunterston A in Scotland. This involves:

  • managing the storage of UK intermediate and higher level solid radioactive wastes
  • developing a strategy to implement the low level solid radioactive waste policy
  • ensuring a highly-skilled workforce is available for decommissioning activities, through education and training
  • working towards developing a future disposal facility for higher activity wastes
  • supporting activities that provide socio-economic benefits to communities living and working near their sites. 

How the NDA works  

The NDA's work is defined by a strategy, which is agreed and revised by UK Government and Scottish Ministers approximately every five years. SEPA is consulted on the draft strategy before it is submitted to Ministers for approval. The NDA's current strategy is under review and the revised strategy will be published in March 2011.

The NDA's current strategy is to contract out the management of the nuclear sites to a private company (or consortium of companies) known as a Parent Body Organisation (PBO) for a period of 10–15 years. The effectiveness of a PBO's work is measured through various financial controls, audits and incentives imposed by the NDA for progressing decommissioning and clean-up work more efficiently.

SEPA's role

We regulate the nuclear site operator (referred to as a Site Licence Company, SLC), through the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 and other environmental legislation. We do not regulate the 'parent company' or the NDA, unless their management impacts on the conditions of the site operator's licence.

Our aim is to ensure that the NDA's plans for decommissioning and clean up align with our corporate aims, and that good environmental performance is promoted in contracts between the NDA and its sites.

We have a NDA Contact Group to advise on the regulatory and environmental consequences of any work NDA or their contractors propose to deliver. This group is made up of staff from our Radioactive Substances Policy Unit, Radioactive Substances Environmental Protection and Improvement Team, and SEPA Legal Team.

The Energy Act 2004 requires SEPA to be a statutory consultee on the NDA's strategy and three-year business plan. We also comment on other documents (in a non-statutory capacity), such as the NDA's Socio-Economic Policy and their annual Health, Safety, Security and Environment Report.

NDA Radioactive Waste Management Directorate (RWMD)

The preferred option for the long-term management of higher activity wastes in Scotland has not yet been decided. In the meantime, wastes must be packaged in a way that is suitable for a range of disposal methods and for any period of interim storage.

The NDA's Radioactive Waste Management Directorate (RWMD) assesses waste packages to ensure they are suitable for long-term disposal. Staff are also developing designs for a future disposal facility, and conducting research and development to support its designs and packaging advice.

SEPA works with the Environment Agency's Nuclear Waste Assessment Team on a joint scrutiny programme of the directorate's work. This is essential to ensuring that the long-term storage and disposal of these wastes commands the confidence of regulators and the public. It also ensures that duplication of work is minimised and that knowledge is shared effectively between the two regulators.