A decision to approve designs for Britain’s next generation of nuclear plants has been delayed for a safety review

The workers at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima are still fighting to contain radiation after the earthquake and tsunami destabilised its reactors, designed with withstanding natural disasters in mind.

In an attempt to incorporate any lessons learned from the crisis at the 40 year-old Japanese plant, a decision to approve new nuclear reactor designs in the UK has been delayed by at least 3 months.

This is due to Energy Secretary Chris Huhne’s decision to order Mike Weightman, the Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations, to study the implications of Japan’s crisis on Britain’s nuclear plans.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), originally planning to grant an interim approval of new plant designs in June, will instead wait until Weightman’s final report is published in September

French energy giant EDF are hoping to build the first of the new nuclear plants in Britain, with two scheduled for completion in 2018.

EDF say that despite the extra consideration being taken following Japan’s crisis, they are still not expecting any major delay in the construction of the new plants.