A programme of nuclear power stations will be delayed by at least three months awaiting report on Japan disaster
Chris Huhne faces legal challenge over nuclear link to cancer in children
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Rob Edwards guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 5 April 2011 17.39 BST
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Plans to build a new programme of nuclear power stations in England are on hold. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/Christopher Thomond
The government's plans to build a new programme of nuclear power stations in England will be delayed by at least three months so that lessons can be learned from the accident at Fukushima in Japan.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency (EA), which are jointly assessing the safety of proposed reactor designs, have said this year's deadline for completing the assessments will now not be met.
The two regulatory agencies said that they would not come to any conclusions in June as had been promised. Instead they will wait for a final report on the implications of Fukushima, by the chief nuclear inspector, Mike Weightman, due in September.
Weightman has been asked by the energy and climate change secretary, Chris Huhne, to examine the lessons that could be learned from the Japanese accident, triggered by an earthquake and a tsunami last month. Until now it had not been clear how this would impact on the "generic design assessment" of reactors which the HSE and EA have been working on since 2006.
In a joint statement, the two agencies said: "Safety and protection of people and the environment will always be our top priority. It is important that we take the necessary time needed to ensure that we learn any relevant lessons emerging from the events in Japan, and implement any improvements that might be required to the new reactor designs." New reactors cannot be built until the regulators are satisfied they are safe.
A spokesman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change said the Weightman's recommendations should be taken into account.
"It's too early to say exactly what impact this will have on the overall timeline. We're continuing with our facilitative actions to encourage investment to come forward as soon as possible," he said.
But this was in marked contrast to a statement by the climate change minister, Greg Barker. He was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that Fukushima would cause no "material delay" to Britain's nuclear power programme.
The French company that wants to build its EPR design of power station, EDF Energy, has been previously quoted as saying that any delays due to Fukushima would be "minimal". The US firm, Westinghouse, is bidding to build differently designed AP1000 reactors.
Last October the UK government gave the initial go-ahead for new nuclear stations at eight sites around the coast of England and Wales. Last week, the Guardian revealed that ministers were being taken to court over allegations that cancer risks had not been properly evaluated.
The Nuclear Industry Association, which represents UK nuclear companies, said that the regulators' announcement was "correct". A spokesman said: "We should take time to review and learn the lessons of the Japanese crisis, while at the same time recognising that new nuclear development is essential for the UK."
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