CUMBRIAN councillors will next week get an update on the Sellafield Detailed Emergency Planning Zone (DEPZ) at a meeting in Penrith next week.
Members of Cumberland and Westmorland & Furness Councils’ joint executive committee are due to meet at Voreda House on Monday (November 10).
According to the report it is under the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2019 (REPPIR).
The report seeks approval to delegate the statutory responsibility for determining the to director of public health, customer and community wellbeing.
It states that this is necessary to ensure compliance with the strict two-month timeframe set out in REPPIR 2019 following receipt of what is known as a Consequences Report from Sellafield.
It adds: “Delegation will enable a timely and informed decision to be made, ensuring public safety and legal compliance, particularly in the absence of a scheduled joint executive committee meeting within the required timeframe.”
According to the report Sellafield is a licensed nuclear site subject to REPPIR 2019 and it adds: “Cumberland Council, as the local authority, has statutory duties under these regulations, including the determination of a Detailed Emergency Planning Zone (DEPZ): a defined area around the site where urgent protective actions, such as sheltering, are pre-planned to mitigate the effects of a radiation emergency.
“Under REPPIR Regulation 8, the council must determine the DEPZ based on
Sellafield’s Consequences Report and local considerations such as geography,
demographics, and the presence of vulnerable groups.”
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