Welcome to the Office for Nuclear Regulation

We have the legal authority to regulate nuclear safety, nuclear security and conventional health and safety at the 36 licensed nuclear sites in Great Britain. This includes the existing fleet of operating reactors, fuel cycle facilities, waste management and decommissioning sites, as well as licensed and, in part, authorised defence sites, together with the regulation of the design and construction of new nuclear facilities, including the supply chain.

All the technical skills found in any engineering based industry can be found in ONR, as well as reactor physics, radiological protection and a number of specialised areas. We are also supported by a corporate centre comprising of administrative public servants who are vital to the effective operations of ONR.

They are used to record findings and, if appropriate, any significant actions we require the site operator to carry out in order to improve matters. Publishing executive summaries of these reports is one part of our aim to be open and transparent by helping all of our stakeholders, including the public, understand our work.

We are committed to providing up to date, open and transparent content relating to our current internal instructions and guidance used to carry out our core operational work.

Alongside the Environment Agency, ONR developed the voluntary Generic Design Assessment process in response to a request from the Government following its 2006 Energy Review. We will not issue permits for new nuclear power stations unless a design and its potential operators meet the high safety, security, safeguards and environmental standards that we require.