en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 11, the UK Office for Nuclear Regulation announced an extension of two safety improvement notices previously issued to Bouygues Travaux Publics and Laing O'Rourke Delivery, the civil construction contractors for the Hinkley Point C nuclear project, requiring the two companies to complete rectification and demonstrate full compliance with regulatory requirements by September 14, 2026.
The two companies, operating as the BYLOR joint venture, are responsible for the main civil works of the Hinkley Point C nuclear project. The UK Office for Nuclear Regulation issued improvement notices to both companies in June 2026, following an incident in which a formwork panel fell from a height of approximately 29 meters at the construction site, seriously injuring one worker. The incident has been reported in accordance with the UK Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013.
The regulatory investigation concluded that BYLOR, as the contractor, failed to adequately ensure that relevant construction activities were safely planned, managed, and supervised, and failed to effectively control risks to the health and safety of personnel so far as was reasonably practicable. Both notices were issued under Regulation 15(2) of the UK Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, which requires contractors to plan, manage, and supervise construction activities under their responsibility to ensure they are carried out safely.
The UK Office for Nuclear Regulation stated that BYLOR has made progress in implementing the rectification requirements but still needs more time to demonstrate full compliance, and therefore agreed to extend the deadline for both notices to September 14. The regulator did not disclose the specific rectification items, but the focus of rectification will center on construction organization, risk control, site supervision, and formwork operation safety management.
This extension applies only to the compliance deadline for the safety improvement notices and does not involve any adjustment to the overall construction plan or commissioning schedule of the Hinkley Point C nuclear project. The regulator also confirmed that the incident was a routine occupational health and safety event in construction and posed no risk to nuclear safety, public safety, or the surrounding environment.
BYLOR, comprising Bouygues Travaux Publics, a subsidiary of France's Bouygues Construction, and the UK's Laing O'Rourke, is the main civil works contractor for the Hinkley Point C nuclear project, responsible for concrete construction of the reactor buildings and associated nuclear island and conventional island structures. As the project enters the stage of large equipment installation and main structure integration, formwork, lifting, work at height, and cross-discipline operations have become key priorities for on-site safety supervision.
Hinkley Point C, located in Somerset, UK, comprises two European Pressurised Reactor units with a total installed capacity of approximately 3.2 gigawatts. This enforcement action will not directly alter the project construction schedule, but BYLOR must provide sufficient evidence to the regulator before the new deadline to demonstrate that the identified deficiencies in construction safety management have been corrected.
