Inspector shortage threatens to delay nuclear ambitions

The government's ambitious timetable for a new wave of nuclear reactors to begin operation from 2017 could face delays as a result of a shortage of qualified safety inspectors, according to a confidential report from the government's chief nuclear inspector.

Reports in yesterday's Observer claim that documents released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that senior officials at the Health and Safety Executive are concerned that a shortage of safety inspectors could affect the government's plans for a new generation of nuclear reactors.

The 37-page report from the government's chief nuclear inspector, Mike Weightman, recommends that the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) needs to recruit a further 36 staff by 2011 as it prepares to assess a new wave of nuclear planning applications, taking its full complement up to 228 inspectors.

However, the report, which was written in January, warns that the watchdog already has 26 fewer inspectors than it ideally requires to manage current nuclear facilities.

Weightman proposes that the gap can be plugged through collaboration with inspectors in China and France and the appointment of more contractors. But he also reportedly warns that recruitment issues could lead to delays in the government's plans for new reactors, the first of which is scheduled to come online in 2017.

The report also reveals that there were over 1,750 safety incidents reported across the UK's nuclear fleet between 2001 and 2008, around half of which were judged by the NII as having "had the potential to challenge a nuclear safety system".

A spokesman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change said that safety measures represented a major plank of the government's nuclear policy, and that any new plants would have to comply with a stringent safety and inspection regime.

He added that the large number of reported safety incidents was partly the result of one of the "most thorough nuclear safety reporting mechanisms in the world", which is designed to ensure that all detected incidents are formally reported to the authorities.