Radioactivity and the Law:
NUCLEAR LIABILITY
The Nuclear Installations Act 1965
Cheryl Parkhouse, Solicitor
Burges Salmon LLP
RSC, Burlington House, London
Tuesday 6 October 2009
Overview
• Brief overview of the structure of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965
• Nuclear Liability
– International
– National (UK)
• Case Law
• Case study – Transport
• Proposed future changes to Nuclear Liability
Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (NIA 1965)
1. Nuclear Site Licence
2. Nuclear Liability
1. Nuclear site licence
• s.1 requirement for nuclear site licence in order
to install or operate a nuclear reactor
• s.4 – Key control – HSE to attach such
conditions as it considers necessary or desirable
in the interests of safety
• 36 “Standard” Nuclear Site Licence Conditions –
central part of regulation of main sites
2. Nuclear Liability
International
• Paris Convention 1960 (as
amended)
• Brussels Supplementary
Convention, 1963 (as
amended)
National
• Nuclear Installations Act
1965 (as amended)
• UK is not a signatory
• Vienna Convention 1963 (as
amended)
• Joint Protocol 1988
• Convention on Supplementary
Compensation for Nuclear
Damage 1997
Paris Convention on Nuclear Third Party
Liability 1960 and the NIA 1965
• Heads of damage
• Operator liability
• Strict liability
• Maximum liability
• Financial security
• Limitation period for claims
Brussels Supplementary Convention 1963 and
the NIA 1965
• Additional funds above Paris
Convention liability limit
• Limitations (e.g., heads of
damage) as in Paris Convention
• Three tier compensation regime
• Must be party to Paris
Convention
Merlin and Others v British Nuclear Fuels Ltd
(1990)
• Plaintiff’s home six miles south of nuclear re-processing plant
• Dust samples in house indicated high levels of radioactive
contamination
• Claim under Nuclear Installations Act 1965 for compensation for
financial loss suffered through diminution in value of house through
level of radioactive contamination and perception of risk to health of
children
• Held:
“liability under the Act did not extend to any loss or damage other
than proved physical or mental personal injury and physical damage
to property… risk or increased risk of damage to property and
consequent risk of injury to health of inhabitants did not amount to
‘injury to any person or damage to any property”
Blue Circle Industries plc v Ministry of Defence
(1998)
• Marshland owned by plaintiff contaminated with radioactive material
from adjoining land owned by Atomic Weapons Establishment
• Claim under Nuclear Installations Act 1965
• Held on appeal to be property damage under s.7(1)(a):
“The physical damage to property contemplated in s.7(1)(a) is not
limited to particular types of damage. Damage within the Act will
occur provided there is some alteration in the physical characteristics
of the property, in this case the marshland, caused by radioactive
properties which render it less useful or less valuable” (Aldous, L.J)
Magnohard Ltd and Others v UKAEA (2003)
• Petitioners owned property situated near Sandside Beach and near
the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) power station
at Dounreay
• Small number of radioactive particles found on Sandside Beach
• Claim under NIA 1965 - Petitioners claimed their land (near Sandside
Beach) had been materially damaged by deposit of radioactive
particles
• Held (Lady Paton):
“Sandside Beach has indeed suffered physical damage in the form of
a “physical change” to the area affected…Damage in my view occurs
as soon as a radioactive particle is deposited on the beach”
Transport and the NIA 1965
UK
Paris Convention
State
UK
Non-Contracting
State
Proposed future amendments to the NIA 1965
• To implement the International Protocol 2004 to amend
the Paris Convention 1960:
– Amendment to definition of ‘Nuclear Installation’;
– Widened definition of ‘Nuclear Damage’;
– Widened class of claimant;
– Increased duration and amount of liability.
Contact Details
Cheryl Parkhouse
Solicitor
Nuclear Unit, Burges Salmon LLP
Email: cheryl.parkhouse@burges-salmon.com
Tel:
+44 (0)117 902 6640
Fax: +44 (0)117 902 4400
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over the information, you should not rely on it as legal advice. We do not accept any liability to anyone who does rely on its content.