The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has relicensed GE Healthcare Limited's (GEHC) nuclear licensed site after the site footprint was reduced by a half as part of major remediation activities.
As required by the Nuclear Installations Act 1965, Mike Finnerty, ONR's Chief Executive and Chief Nuclear Inspector, has signed the documentation to revoke the existing site licence at The Grove Centre in Amersham, and issue a new site licence to GEHC.
The site reduction at The Grove Centre in Buckinghamshire is driven by a long-term strategic plan to decommission old manufacturing facilities and the new licence reduces the footprint of the licensed site by about 50 per cent by removing part of the northern end of the site from the licensed area.
The new licence comes into force today with GEHC remaining the primary user of The Grove Centre.
ONR has conducted a proportionate assessment of the relicensing application. This assessment considered the limited changes to the dutyholder and the fact the revised licensed site boundary falls within the footprint of the existing licence.
As part of the assessment, ONR has carefully considered the condition of the land that previously fell within the licensed site boundary. This land has since undergone extensive remediation and now sits outside the nuclear licensed site boundary.
Graham Simpson, ONR's site Inspector for the GE Healthcare Limited Amersham site, said: “Our assessment has identified no safety or security concerns with the relicensing of The Grove Centre at Amersham.
"The site has changed considerably during the past decade and the decommissioning and land remediation project at the site’s northern end, which began in 2015, is now complete.
"This has enabled the de-licencing of part of the site, representing a significant milestone in its lifecycle. This reflects both ONR's commitment to proportionate regulation and the dutyholder's commitment to releasing land for alternative uses."
Background
Operations involving radioactive material have been carried out at Amersham since 1940 and the site has since undergone significant changes to buildings and facilities, reflecting the evolving requirements for the development of radiological products.
Operations on the site are now focused on the decommissioning of redundant manufacturing facilities, the storage and management of legacy radioactive waste, and the phased deregulation of areas of The Grove Centre as they become available.
ONR will continue to regulate the safety and security of the relicensed site through a programme of regular inspections.