Executive summary
Date(s) of inspection
- July 2026
Aim of inspection
To gain regulatory confidence in the arrangements for decision making that SL have made regarding meeting a number of Strategic Objectives, which are linked to the target to complete vitrification operations in 2036.
Subject(s) of inspection
- Health & Safety at Work Act - Rating: Not rated
Key findings, inspector's opinions and reasons for judgement made
I conducted an inspection targeting Sellafield Limited's arrangements and governance for making Strategic Decisions within the Highly Active Liquor (HAL) programme, which is the first part of a wider themed inspection on the achievability of the plans of the HAL stream to reach end of operations according to the Key Deliverable Milestone (KDM1 - HAL operations into interim end state by 2040). This inspection sampled aspects of the following:
- The decision-making process
- Governance arrangements for the decisions
- Stakeholder engagement
Sellafield Ltd demonstrated that the identified Strategic Decisions and Tactical decisions are supported by a robust process, which is being followed by the HAL programme. Personnel understand the requirements of the process, and exhibit good behaviours in ensuring that these key decisions that support the operation of the HAL programme are being made effectively.
Conclusion
From the evidence that I sampled during the course of this inspection, I consider that the dutyholder has a robust process for making decisions that will affect the end of operations for the Highly Active Liquor (HAL) programme, which is being demonstrably complied with, and which seeks appropriate engagement with relevant dutyholders. This engagement forms part of a themed inspection on the achievability of the plans of the HAL stream to reach end of operations. As such, an overall rating will be given following the final engagement, but each individual engagement will not be formally rated. However, an indicative rating for this part of the overall inspection is green.