The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has served four improvement notices - two each on EDF and contractor Trillium Flow Services UK Ltd - following asbestos related shortfalls at Torness Nuclear Power Station.
The incident occurred during a planned outage at the East Lothian site in Scotland, in March 2026, when workers could have been exposed to asbestos in a valve within the steam system while carrying out overhaul activities.
There was no risk to nuclear safety, the public or the environment.
ONR carried out wider enquiries which found that the valves may have contained asbestos. Inspectors also established that during similar maintenance on a similar valve in 2024, material assumed to be asbestos had been identified and removed.
However, this information was not recorded in the site's asbestos register - the central record used to track the location and condition of asbestos across the site.
As a result, those carrying out the 2026 overhaul had no knowledge of the risk.
Workers began activities without being informed of the possible presence of asbestos and without appropriate controls being in place to manage exposure to and the spread of asbestos.
ONR's inquiries raised broader concerns about the reliability of EDF's asbestos register. Staff at Torness reported that the register did not record instances of asbestos on plant equipment, and it was not consistently consulted when maintenance work was planned.
None of the workers have required medical treatment and they will receive ongoing monitoring as part of routine occupational health surveillance.
Due to these findings, ONR has served two improvement notices on EDF: the first for failing to maintain a written plan identifying areas of the site where asbestos is, or may be, present; the second for failing to prevent or adequately reduce employee exposure to asbestos during valve overhaul activities.
ONR served the notices to EDF under The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 S2(1) and 3(1) and The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 regulations 4 and 11.
EDF has voluntarily suspended all asbestos removal work carried out by its maintenance team pending compliance with the notices.
ONR has served two improvement notices on Trillium Flow Services UK Ltd: the first for failing to make appropriate arrangements to monitor the close-out of work logs to ensure accurate information about asbestos is maintained; the second for failing to assess whether asbestos is present or liable to be present before undertaking maintenance work on valves.
ONR has issued the notices to Trillium Flow Services Ltd under The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 S2(1) and 3(1), The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 regulation 5 and The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 regulation 5.
Gary Cook, ONR's Joint Head of Safety Regulation for the Operating Reactors Sub-directorate, said: “Our enquiries found that both EDF and Trillium Flow Services UK Ltd failed to manage asbestos risks at the site to allow workers to carry out their work safely.
“This incident also highlights the importance of accurate record-keeping and ensuring workers have the information they need before beginning any maintenance activity. We will engage with both companies during the period of the improvement notices to ensure positive progress is made to address these shortfalls."
Both EDF and Trillium Flow Services UK Ltd are required to comply with the notices by 30 June 2026.