Emergency Planning - Nuclear

REPPIR Plans and Information within Hartlepool

Under the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2019, Local Authorities must plan for mitigating the consequences of a nuclear off-site emergency. To ensure that arrangements are in place to deal with the off-site consequences of an incident at a Hartlepool nuclear power station, however unlikely, Hartlepool Borough Council as the designated Lead Local Authority must produce an Off-Site Emergency Plan. The off-site plan is in addition to the site operator on-site plan and is developed by the Council working with a number of organisations including other Local Authorities, emergency services, health organisations and staff from the site operator. The plan is designed to protect the public and environment from any radiation emergency which may have off-site consequences.

Please see the links to key websites and documents; this provides you with additional information from the Regulators, links to the regulations and Public Health England.

Hartlepool Power Station

An incident at Hartlepool Power Station may cause an increased risk to public health and require specific protective actions to be put into place by the emergency services. A range of information has been produced to help you understand what might happen if an incident occurs.

Determining the Detailed Emergency Planning Zone (DEPZ)

Hartlepool Council is now required under Radiation (Emergency Preparedness & Public Information) Regulations (REPPIR) to determine the Hartlepool Detailed Emergency Planning Zone (DEPZ). Previously, the Office for Nuclear Regulations were required to set DEPZ. See the background to this work.

The revised DEPZ was agreed by Hartlepool Council on 5 March 2020 and is based upon the recommendations contained within the EDF Energy Consequences Report. The DEPZ is approximately a distance of up to 2.7km from the site . The justification and decision reached in the revised DEPZ can be viewed in the DEPZ Determination Report.

EDF Energy Nuclear Generation (operator of Hartlepool Power Stations) is required to assess potential hazards from working with ionising radiation which have the potential to cause a radiation emergency.  This information is used to evaluate a full range of consequences and the conclusions of this evaluation are provided to Hartlepool Council in a Consequences Report

A letter has been sent to those who live and work within the DEPZ, informing them of the recent determination to the DEPZ. A leaflet explaining the protective actions members of the DEPZ may need to take was sent with the letters.

Outline Planning Zone

The Outline Planning Zone (OPZ) is a new concept under REPPIR 2019; please see the Outline Planning Zone Map  for Hartlepool Power Stations and the Prior Information Leaflet. 

Further Information & who to contact

If you require further information regarding any of the information presented you can use the following contacts:

EDF Energy Off-Site Emergency Planning Lead at joshua.tarling@edf-energy.com