The emergency zone around the Hunterston B Nuclear Power Station in Ayrshire could shrink under proposals set to go before North Ayrshire Council next week.
Following recommendations from the plant's operators EDF, it is proposed that the Detailed Emergency Planning Zone (DEPZ) boundary should change from 2.4 kilometres to 1.08km.
The DEPZ is the area close to the site where protective counter measures — such as sheltering and evacuation — are to be applied in the event of an off-site release.
Hunterston B ceased operation earlier this year and the defueling process is now under way at the facility.
A ‘consequences report’ was required and this has advised that the DEPZ boundary should be revised.
The size and shape of the DEPZ around the site was previously determined by the Office for Nuclear Regulation before the introduction of new legislation — called REPPIR (Radiation Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) — which transferred that power to local authorities.
It is the duty of the operators, not the council, to assess the risks in relation to the sites and recommend the DEPZ boundaries.
Although the matter will be considered by North Ayrshire Council’s cabinet on Tuesday, September 27, REPPIR Regulations require local authorities to determine the boundary only on the basis of the operator’s recommendation and local authorities have very limited discretion to diverge from this recommendation.
The consequences report recommends that the pre-distribution of stable iodine tablets is now no longer justifiable as an appropriate protection measure in the unlikely event of an offsite release of radiation.
But every household currently within the DEPZ will continue to receive safety information.
The boundary for Hunterston A, a decommissioning site operated by Magnox, is recommended to remain at 0km.
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