In 2022, after 46 years of generation, Hinkley Point B (HPB) switched off its last operational reactor and began defueling. The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) declared the site free of nuclear fuel in January 2026. Alister, our Hinkley Point B nuclear regulator, explains how the Environment Agency is regulating the power station as it moves to the next stage of the nuclear life cycle.
What’s happening at Hinkley Point B?
On 1 October 2026 Hinkley Point B’s environmental permits transferred from EDF to Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS), marking the start of the next step of the decommissioning journey. Decommissioning of Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor (AGR) sites is led by NRS, and HPB is the first AGR in England to transfer, following Hunterston B in Scotland in April.
Who regulated HPB before the Environment Agency?
Hinkley Point B began generating in 1976. During the station’s lifespan environmental law and protection has continued to evolve as our scientific knowledge and understanding has progressed. Before 1996 most environmental regulation of HPB was carried out by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Pollution (HMIP) and its predecessors. The big change to environmental regulation of nuclear power stations came in 1996 with the formation of the Environment Agency.
Environment Agency regulation - from the 1990s to 2025
We’ve been regulating Hinkley Point B for 30 years. Operators of nuclear sites must have an environmental permit for radioactive substances activities (RSR). The RSR permit for Hinkley Point B contains strict conditions (rules) that operators must always follow. We set limits on what they are allowed to release when carrying out certain activities such as disposing of radioactive waste or discharging to air and water into the environment.
Read more about our regulation during the operational phase on our previous blog.
In June 2025, EDF asked to change its radioactive substances permit. The reactors were no longer operational, and the site was fuel free. Environmental permits must represent the activities taking place and the changes reflected the reducing radiological hazard and risk from HPB. Similar changes can be seen at other sites as they move through decommissioning phases.
In July 2025 we received a joint application for the transfer of the radioactive substances permit from the current operator EDF to a new operator, NRS. It has been a huge team effort and, with our colleagues in Wessex area and our National Permitting Service, we’ve also transferred the Water Discharge Activity Permit, two closed landfill permits, a Combustion activity permit and a water abstraction activity. The permit for the District Survey Laboratory at Combwich was surrendered, with laboratory activities moving to the HPB site. As part of the surrender EDF demonstrated, through a final radiological survey, the absence of radioactive material and contamination within the laboratory facility.
Our regulation includes asking HPB to monitor its radioactive discharges and waste. We carry out our own independent monitoring to reassure both ourselves and the public and publish the results in our annual report.
What will regulation at HPB look like in the future?
We will continue to regulate HPB through decommissioning, ensuring the environment is protected and the management of radioactive waste is fully considered along with sustainability and the ability to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
We have many years of experience regulating decommissioning nuclear facilities. An example of this is next door at Hinkley Point A (HPA). HPA has seen many changes on site since it stopped generating in 2000, with the removal of plant, the installation of waste treatment and storage facilities and remediation of land.
During decommissioning activities include a focus on reduction of hazards (radiological, chemical). Since defueling HPB has been removing environmental hazards on site including bulk storage of oils and chemicals. This year our regulation has focused on EDF maintaining compliance with current permit conditions, processing the permit transfer and seeking assurances that the transition from EDF to NRS meets our requirements.
Going forward we’ll initially focus on how well the site has transitioned and adjusted to a new operator. Our role is to ensure that the operator has managed this change process and is still compliant with our permits. We’ll also learn lessons which we can apply to the permit transfer process for the remaining AGR fleet. NRS will also be developing and progressing decommissioning plans – and we’ll provide advice and guidance and ensure they comply with the requirements of the permit and BAT.
Community engagement will remain an important part of my role. We’ll continue to run our own ‘meet the regulator’ meetings, attend and report to the Site Stakeholder Group and respond to general enquiries from the community about our regulation of the site.
Read about decommissioning from EDF Nuclear decommissioning – how is a power station decommissioned? | EDF Read about the handover from Nuclear Restoration Services UK’s decommissioning mission continues to expand - GOV.UK Read about the Office for Nuclear Regulation’s granting of a nuclear site licence to NRS ONR gives green light for Hinkley Point B licence transfer to Nuclear Restoration Services | Office for Nuclear Regulation Read about our regulation at Hinkley Point Hinkley Point: nuclear regulation - GOV.UKIf you’ve got any questions about our work at Hinkley Point B contact us at nuclear@environment-agency.gov.uk
seen at 18:40, 5 October in Environment Agency: For homes and habitats..