Nuclear power can go on supplying homes in the UK, the British energy secretary Chris Huhne said today after a report on the Fukushima disaster found no reason to curb the
use of reactors in Britain.
The review, led by chief nuclear inspector Mike Weightman, examined the lessons which could be learned for the UK industry from the crisis at the Japanese reactor when it was hit by a magnitude 9 earthquake and subsequent tsunami in March.
Following the publication of interim findings in May, the British government signalled that a new generation of UK nuclear power plants, which ministers say are necessary to keep the lights on and cut carbon, was on track.
Today Mr Huhne published the final review, which found that there was no reason to curtail the operation of nuclear sites operating in the UK and there are no fundamental weaknesses in the licensing regime or safety assessment principles.
Mr Huhne said: "The report makes clear that the UK has one of the best nuclear safety regimes in the world, and that nuclear power can go on powering homes and businesses across the UK, as well as supporting jobs.
"We must, however, continue to improve where we can, not just with operating power stations and new sites, but by dealing with our nuclear legacy in a robust and efficient manner too."
In a written statement to MPs, Mr Huhne said the final review confirmed the interim findings that new nuclear could be a part of the low-carbon energy mix in the UK.
But environmental campaigners have criticised the British government for pushing forward with new nuclear power plants before lessons could be learned from the Fukushima disaster and have raised a number of concerns about the review.
Greenpeace is also pursuing a judicial review over the decision to give the go-ahead to the new reactors before the final report was published.
Dr Weightman, who led a visit to Japan and Fukushima in June, insisted that, although it was only six months since the disaster, it was possible to have drawn "reliable conclusions and identified the main lessons to improve safety".
And he said: "I remain confident that our UK nuclear facilities have no fundamental safety weaknesses.
"The Office for Nuclear Regulation already requires protection of nuclear sites against the worst-case scenarios that are predictable for the UK."
The report said the events that hit the Japanese power plant, including a 14m high tsunami, which shut down the power to the reactors and knocked out their cooling facilities, "are far beyond the most extreme natural events that the UK would be expected to experience".
But Dr Weightman said regulators were not complacent.
"No matter how high our standards, the quest for improvement must never stop. We will ensure lessons are learned from Fukushima. Action has already been taken in many cases, with work under way to further enhance safety at UK sites."
There are 38 recommendations in the report, including reviewing the reliance on off-site infrastructure such as the power grid in the case of a disaster, and looking at flooding studies to make sure nuclear sites are sufficiently protected.
The final review did not find any significant defects in the UK's approach to nuclear regulation, which includes periodic safety reviews every 10 years.
But the report found the example of the weaknesses of the ageing Fukushima reactors highlighted the need to deal with facilities such as Sellafield's legacy fuel storage ponds and waste storage silos "with the utmost vigour and determination".