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 site available to the public. It is for distribution to members of the Clyde Local Liaison Committee and covers activities associated with the regulation of nuclear safety at HM Naval Base Clyde. These reports are distributed quarterly. Site Inspectors of HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate normally attend LLC meetings and will be happy to respond to questions raised there or subsequently by members of the LLC. Any other person wishing to inquire about matters covered by this report should contact the HSE, Nuclear Directorate Information Centre on 0151 - 951 - 4103.
1. Visits are made to the Base for the purpose of undertaking routine plant and project inspections or meeting site management or safety representatives. NII inspectors visited Faslane and Coulport during the quarter as follows:
23 - 25 July 20022. NII's normal method of business is to inspect the Clyde Base in accordance with a planned inspection programme and to discuss any matters arising with site staff. Inspections are undertaken for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the relevant provisions of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act (1974) including the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999 at the two sites.
Meetings are also held routinely to discuss matters that affect the continued safe operation of the base. Discussions are also held with the Ministry of Defence internal regulators: the Naval Nuclear Regulatory Panel (NNRP), on matters of mutual interest.
3. In this period, the following matters in particular have been discussed:
a. Provision and assessment of safety documentation.b. Management of facility operations and maintenance within the Base.
c. Safety training of staff
d. Radiography
e. Emergency response training
f. Off-site and on-site emergency arrangements.
4. The NII held discussions with the Base staff on studies currently being undertaken on ways of reducing radiation doses to workers from the cleaning of submarine reactor compartments following maintenance work. The Base have arranged trials to be carried out on different methods of working which will be evaluated over the next few months to determine their effectiveness.
5. A meeting was held to discuss planned improvements to monitoring equipment and calibration sources issued to submarines. Good progress has been made reassessing the operational requirement and a programme of providing updated equipment is scheduled for 2003.
6. An inspection was carried out of the control and supervision of industrial radiography in the Base including on board a submarine undergoing maintenance. The inspection included examination of records and operator procedures. An inspection of a radiography procedure of steam pipework in the Main Machinery Space (Engine Room) of a submarine was carried out to verify the safety arrangements for the operation. The work was considered to be well controlled and safely conducted. The safety precautions taken to ensure the area was evacuated prior to exposure were effective.
7. An inspection was also carried out of the overall control of nuclear related work on the Base which is controlled by a Procedure Authorisation Group. The control of nuclear work appeared to be well planned and organised. A sample of reports and procedures were examined as part of the inspection.
8. An inspection was carried out during the quarter of the control and supervision of maintenance work in the Explosives Handling Jetty at Coulport. This work also appeared to be well organised and controlled with good use of a Permit-to-Work system and auditing procedures. A similar type of inspection for processing operations at Coulport also confirmed that satisfactory control and supervision arrangements were in place.
9. The NII carried out a joint audit of the training arrangements for the Naval Accident Response Organisation with inspectors from the Naval Nuclear Regulatory Panel. The audit included inspection of records and procedures as well as interviewing a cross section of Base staff. The audit concluded that whilst staff appeared to be well trained and competent to deal with emergencies, there were some weaknesses in the documentation and quality assurance arrangements to clearly demonstrate compliance with the necessary requirements. A robust programme for improving the arrangements is now being progressed.
10. An inspection was carried out during the quarter to verify the validity of safety documentation referenced in safety reports for the Base's submission to the HSE under the Radiation Emergency Preparedness and Public Information Regulations 2001. These were found to be complete and up to date.
11. The Inspectorate has taken no formal enforcement action on the Base during this period.
Published on the HSE web site 27 January 2003