The UK’s Environment Agency has begun a public consultation on the UK HPR1000 nuclear power reactor design, which is designed by China General Nuclear Group and planned for use at the Bradwell B Nuclear station in Essex, southeast England.

Alongside the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), the agency assesses the acceptability of new nuclear power station designs in a process called generic design assessment. This process helps ensure that any new nuclear power stations built in the UK meet high standards of safety, security, environmental protection and waste management. It also helps avoid potential costly and time-consuming changes for regulatory reasons during construction.

General Nuclear System Limited, acting for China General Nuclear Group and French state-controled power company EDF, began submitting the UK HPR1000 design to both the Environment Agency and ONR for GDA in September 2017. This followed a request from the government to regulators to begin a GDA of the design.