AWE fined following guilty plea

AWE fined following a guilty plea to offences brought by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) under Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act (1974).

Following the conclusion today (9 November 18) of the hearing at Reading Magistrates Court, we note and accept the Court’s decision and fine in the order of £1 million.

We reiterate our deep regret that the incident of 27 June 2017 occurred, and that a member of staff received a minor injury as a result.

As the ONR has already stated, this was a conventional health and safety matter which posed no radiological risk to workers or members of the public.

A robust internal investigation was immediately carried out into the incident and the findings shared with the ONR. This resulted in a full review of electrical safety processes and systems across the AWE sites, with actions being taken to minimise the risk of recurrence.

A wide range of measures designed to further improve electrical safety on the AWE sites have been introduced and significant steps taken to increase electrical awareness amongst employees and contractors.

AWE’s Chief Operating Officer, Haydn Clulow, said: “We always take our health and safety responsibilities extremely seriously and have co-operated fully with the ONR throughout the course of this investigation.

“AWE continues to operate safely and remains committed to achieving the highest standards in safety performance, working collaboratively with our regulators, contractors and partners.”