The main purpose of the Act is to protect the public from ionising radiations from radioactive waste by way of use, accumulation or disposal. It also makes provisions for the discharge of radioactive materials by way of effluents, and provides for a National Disposal Service of radioactive waste not disposable by local means.

The CEGB is exempted from those parts of the Act that deal with use where the location is controlled under the Nuclear Installations Act. Mobile radioactive apparatus is not exempted since the Board may wish to use such equipment from location, to location.

Before disposing of radioactive wastes on or from a site, authorisations must be obtained from the Secretary of State for the Environment and from the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.~These ministers will consult local authorities, river authori­ties, water authorities and other bodies similar to those which they believe proper to consult. Public and local authorities may not take into account the radio­active content of waste when exercising their powers in relation to nuisance, pollution and waste since it would be unreasonable for those subject to the 1960 Act to be also accountable to the local and public authorities for the same thing.

Where a site is the subject of a Nuclear Site Li­cence then it is not subject to this Act for the storage of waste prior to its disposal.