Safe operation is assured by effective design, acquisition and installation of plant and equipment that satisfy the design requirements. A licensing process and quality assurance measures must be established to ensure that these requirements are satisfied.

Throughout the operating life of the plant, it is the operating organisa­tion’s responsibility to ensure that the plant design fidelity is maintained and that it is operated and maintained in accordance with design require­ments. Periodically regulators will require a design assessment to determine such things as the impact of in-service aging on the design characteristics and to assess if any countermeasures are required in the form of replace­ment components, modifications or changes to operating conditions.

Nuclear site licence conditions will define the responsibilities of the oper­ator for ensuring safety and environmental protection.

The licensing process and the means of enacting licence requirements are discussed in Chapter 20, and operations in Chapter 23.

5.1.4 Decommissioning

The operating organisation is responsible for making full provision for the costs of decommissioning and disposal of hazardous waste. The financial provisions must be set aside throughout the operating lifetime of the plant. In addition the operator must ensure that the hazardous waste arisings are kept to an absolute minimum, that they are effectively stored until final disposal and that a full inventory of the hazardous waste is maintained. Prior to closure of an NPP, the operating organisation is required to seek a license for the activities involved.

Decommissioning is covered in detail in Chapter 24.