During the reporting period 1 January 2026 - 31 March 2026 there were 2 incidents within Great Britain that met the Ministerial Reporting Criteria (MRC) agreed between ONR and DESNZ. A summary of one of the incidents is provided below. ONR is continuing to engage with the dutyholder involved in the other reported incident to gain a full understanding of the circumstances. A corresponding summary will be shared at a later date where this is appropriate.
GE Healthcare, The Grove Centre, Amersham
- Incident ID Site/Consignor: 5886
- Date of occurrence: 05/01/2026
- ONR incident category: SC10(a)
- INES rsting: N/A
- ONR governance category: 3 – Minor shortfall, Inspector follow up
Incident description
Two individuals in a van were granted access to the site in the mistaken belief that they were bona fide visitors contracted to remove non-hazardous scrap metal from site. The individuals were on site for less than 18 minutes and departed empty-handed when they saw the negligible amount of scrap metal awaiting removal. The individuals and their vehicle were escorted at all times and were not afforded, nor did they seek, access to any buildings, or any information about the site and its operations.
Dutyholder’s response
The dutyholder investigated the incident, reviewed the robustness of its access control arrangements and conducted additional staff training relating to site visitors. Additional signage has been placed on the site perimeter, identifying the location as a site where trespass constitutes a criminal offence. The incident was reported to Thames Valley Police who launched their own investigation into tracing the individuals. To date, the individuals have not been traced.
ONR’s action
Having not already done so at time of reporting to ONR, the dutyholder was instructed to report the incident to the police and emphasised that while the consequences of the incursion were minor, the dutyholder had failed to meet its legal obligation to control access to the site in accordance with its approved security plan. ONR also highlighted to the dutyholder that such a tactic could be used as hostile reconnaissance and / or to test the site’s security arrangements.
After the dutyholder had completed its internal review of the incident, ONR conducted a follow-up inspection to obtain assurance that identified improvements had been implemented effectively. The remedial action taken by the dutyholder was deemed to be adequate and, on this basis, it was concluded that no further regulatory action was required.
ONR recognises that while there was unauthorised access to the site, defence in depth measures ensured there was no access to nuclear material or sensitive areas, and nuclear material remained appropriately protected throughout.
To highlight the vulnerabilities generated by inadequate control of access measures and the lengths that criminals will go to in order to steal metal, details of the incident have been shared with other dutyholders and with CNC for intelligence purposes.