Euratom exit could risk UK’s decommissioning capabilities, warns report

End of free movement could also see exodus of nuclear scientists

Leaving Euratom could risk the UK’s standing as a world leader in nuclear decommissioning, a study out today suggests.

A report by the think tank IPPR North warns that withdrawing from Euratom’s directives means the UK will have to develop a “highly complex” new regulatory framework and international agreements on areas including nuclear fusion, radioactive waste and the supply and distribution of nuclear materials.

The complexity of such an undertaking and the time it is likely to take, may have an adverse impact on the UK’s capabilities for nuclear decommissioning and waste disposal, according to the report.

In particular, the Sellafieds decommissioning plant, which employs over half of the UK’s nuclear workforce, as an example of a site that would be greatly affected as it currently relies on several contracts with European countries to “trade, send and reprocess spent fuel and nuclear waste based on Euratom safety standards”.

“On energy alone, the government’s industrial strategy will need to go from being a mere summary of current policy interventions undertaken by the government in the economy, to one of the most detailed and interventionist plans for a modern economy in the world, if it is to replace Euratom and the decades’ worth of expertise and programmes developed through pan-European co-operation,”  said Ed Cox, director of IPPR North.

“As the government has repeatedly said, leaving the EU does not mean leaving Europe, and if it looks as though Brexiteers can’t deliver ontheir promises, we must continue to have the closest relationship with our nearest neighbours on energy,” he added.

It was also suggested that the ending of free movement could see the exodus of highly-skilled nuclear scientists, whose skills are in high demand internationally.