Health and Safety
Executive / Commission
Nuclear
LLC reports
This report is issued as part of the Health and Safety Executive's commitment to make information about inspection and regulatory activities relating to the above sites available to the public. It is for distribution to members of the AWE Local Liaison Committee (LLC) and covers activities associated with the regulation of safety at Aldermaston and Burghfield. Site Inspectors of HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate attend LLC meetings and will be happy to respond to any questions raised there by members. Any other person wishing to enquire about matters covered by this report may contact HSE's Nuclear Directorate Information Centre on 0151-951-4103.
1. A total of 15 different NII inspectors visited the Aldermaston and Burghfield sites during the quarter. They included Mr L G Williams, HM Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations. Inspections were made on the following days:
| Aldermaston | 1-4 October 21-24 October4-7 November14 November25-28 November2-6 December | ||
| Burghfield | 1 October 29 October2 December | ||
2. Inspections are undertaken for the purpose of monitoring compliance with
(i) the conditions attached by HSE to the nuclear site licences, and
(ii) other relevant provisions of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, including the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999.
In this period routine inspections included:
(a) Provision and assessment of safety cases and compliance with arrangements made under licence conditions.
(b) Management of facility operations and maintenance.
(c) Proposals for new plants.
(d) Emergency arrangements.
(e) Decommissioning of redundant facilities.
(f) Waste management.
(g) Control of organisational change.
(h) The operation and maintenance of safety equipment.
(i) Operating instructions.
(j) Control and supervision of operations.
(k) Arrangements for the control of modifications to existing plants.
3. Issues arising from these and previous inspections are being pursued. Inspections were made also by HSE's factory inspectors, explosives inspectors, and fire surveyor. (At the request of the AWE Local Liaison Committee an appendix is attached to this report giving some details of these inspections. It is not intended that this appendix will be prepared for every report: it is offered now to indicate the nature of these inspections, which are continual. If inspections reveal any issues significantly affecting nuclear safety, which is the subject of this report, they will continue to be included.)
Before the first strike, AWE plc's contingency plans were examined and judged adequate. They included measures to reduce the likelihood of fires and to make the best use of the company's own fire brigade. The sites' precautions during the strikes have been monitored: a satisfactory situation has been maintained.
AWE plc's managing director and a team of his directors gave a most helpful presentation on the Company Strategic Plan to inspectors from the HSE and the Environment Agency.
Several meetings have been held to discuss the development of the licensee's Integrated Criticality Programme, by which it intends to manage work aimed at improving still further the control of fissile material.
Laurence Williams spent a day at Aldermaston, where he visited a major production plant and some plants being decommissioned. AWE plc made a presentation on the proposed Hydrodynamics Research Facility. He had meetings with directors and safety representatives.
Under Licence Condition 15 the licensee must periodically review and reassess its safety cases. The first such review resulted in a new safety case for a major production facility in 2001. NII's assessment of the case got into full swing during this quarter, seven specialist inspectors visiting that facility. NII intends that its assessment of this first review will:
(a) test the licensee's conclusion that the plant can continue to be operated safely and
(b) generate lessons for the improvement of reviews of other plants, now under way. Meetings to promulgate the lessons learned from this and other safety cases have begun, so as to give the best possible chance that safety cases to be written for the forthcoming set of new plants will be acceptable to NII at the outset.
This year's demonstration emergency exercise simulated a helicopter crash on a major facility. It was well supported by the local authority fire and ambulance services. Royal Berkshire Hospital received and treated a 'contaminated' casualty. NII judged the exercise a satisfactory demonstration of part of the licensee's arrangements for dealing with any accident or emergency arising on the site and its effects.
10. As part of its regulation under the nuclear site licences NII issues formal regulatory documents, which include Consents, Approvals, Directions, and Licence Instruments 1. For Aldermaston, during the quarter NII issued Consent No 1, which allowed the new tritium plant to commence operation.
11. After a thorough review of the committee's working methods, AWE plc proposed some amendments to the terms of reference of its Nuclear Safety Committee. This is a committee established in accordance with Licence Condition 13 to consider safety matters and provide advice on them to the licensee. NII approved those amendments, in Approvals No 11 (for Aldermaston) and 6 (for Burghfield). Similarly, amendments to the licensee's arrangements for considering urgent safety proposals led to Approvals No 12 (Aldermaston) and 7 (Burghfield).
12. In Licence Instrument No 23 NII has specified that the VIPER reactor, which has been shut down in accordance with its maintenance schedule, shall not be started up again without NII's consent. This makes the regulation of VIPER consistent with that of other UK reactors, of all types.
The fire surveyor attended the Burghfield emergency exercise (with NII, see main report) to judge liaison with emergency services and communications.
An explosives inspector made a preventive inspection of the Environmental Test Facility at Aldermaston, to judge compliance with the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA) and its relevant statutory provisions, in particular the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999 (COMAH). Topics included the major accident prevention policy required under COMAH, and control of contractors.
Explosives and factory inspectors joined nuclear inspectors for a 6-monthly plenary meeting with the employees' safety representatives (appointed under the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977). The inspectors gave an account of their activities since the last meeting, and the safety representatives explained some of their concerns. Inspectors later followed up some of these.
A meeting on the proposed Hydrodynamics Research Facility was attended by explosives inspectors and the fire surveyor (as well as NII).
The fire surveyor attended meetings and made visits to several facilities at Aldermaston on general fire precautions (under the Fire Certificates (Special Premises) Regulations 1976 (FCSPR.))
The fire surveyor made building surveys and attended meetings at Aldermaston, again concerned with the FCSPR.
Visit to Burghfield by fire surveyor to discuss general fire precautions (under FCSPR).
Preventive inspection of a beryllium facility at Aldermaston by an explosives inspector under the HSWA and COMAH. Topics included systems employed for the management of substances subject to COMAH and general COMAH management arrangements.
Further inspection of this beryllium facility, including implementation of the major accident prevention policy required under COMAH, and the inventory control of substances subject to COMAH.
Explosives and factory inspectors joined nuclear inspectors at the presentation of AWE plc's Strategic Plan mentioned in the main report.
An explosives inspector attended a further meeting on the proposed Hydrodynamics Research Facility.
The fire surveyor observed a fire-alarm test and evacuation exercise at a major production facility at Aldermaston.
1Licence Instruments are issued to acknowledge receipt of specified documents, eg proposals for a new or modified plant; to stipulate whether the Inspectorate intends to examine these documents, or to agree to the start of a particular phase of construction, commissioning, modification, or decommissioning.
Published on the HSE web site 31 March 2003