Nuclear regulator demands improvements at AWE sites

Procedural inadequacies highlighted at Aldermaston and Burghfield sites

AWE – the atomic weapons establishment which maintains and manufactures warheads at Burghfield and Aldermaston – has been served Improvement Notices by the national regulator.

The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), which monitors 37 sites across the UK, served the orders on July 19.

They highlight inadequacies in the way the AWE undertakes risk assessments.

This is despite the establishment having been warned before of procedural issues through numerous enforcement and advice letters.

The ONR states that the AWE must demonstrate its full compliance with the recommended standards by January 15, 2021.

Officials stress that the flaws observed at the AWE’s Aldermaston and Burghfield sites do not represent a public safety hazard.

AWE produces the warheads for the UK’s nuclear arsenal.

Workers at the Burghfield site assemble the weapons using components manufactured at the Aldermaston facility.

AWE also services the weapons used in the Trident system.

It is West Berkshire’s largest employer.

A major safety overhaul was proposed by the ONR in 2018, with observers raising concerns over the condition of production units at the sites.

The efficiency of the AWE’s self-regulatory regime was also brought into question.

Following the latest findings, AWE emphasised its commitment to high working standards and said: “AWE’s leadership remain fully focused on maintaining and delivering safe operations at AWE.

“The improvements that people in AWE have already been making reflect a desire to continuously improve and set the highest possible standards in conventional and nuclear safety.”