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 Heysham Power Station available to the public. It is for distribution to members of the Heysham Local Community Liaison Council and covers activities associated with the regulation of safety at Heysham. These reports are distributed quarterly. Site Inspectors of HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate attend LCLC meetings and will be happy to respond to any questions raised there by members of the LCLC. Any other person wishing to enquire about matters covered by this report should contact the HSE, Nuclear Directorate Information Centre on 0151-951-4103.
The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) site inspectors made visits to Heysham on the following dates during this quarter:
| Heysham 1 | Heysham 2 |
|---|---|
| 11, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26 April 2002 | 8, 9, 19, 30 April 2002 |
| 1, 2, 9, 10, 16, 17, 22, 23 May 2002 | 1, 10, 15, 16, 23, 27 to 29 May 2002 |
| 6, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19 June 2002 | 10, 11, 12, 20 June 2002 |
Other members of the NII, including specialist inspectors, also visited Heysham site during the period. At Heysham 1, NII inspectors completed an enhanced programme of mini team inspections during the periodic shutdown of reactor 2, focusing on a number of nuclear safety significant areas. At Heysham 2, inspections or meetings took place associated with radioactive waste management, periodic safety review, work management and the forthcoming periodic shutdown of reactor 7.
An inspector from the Swedish nuclear regulator, SKI, accompanied an NII inspection of radioactive waste facilities and arrangements at both Heysham stations from 10 to 14 June 2002.
As part of our routine work we inspect for compliance against the requirements of the Stations' Nuclear Site Licence, the Health and Safety at Work Act and other relevant safety legislation. We monitor events, plant operations, projects, modifications and safety case changes which are important to safety.
A meeting was held on 26 April 2002 to review the station's last period of operation, discuss plans for the period ahead and to progress any outstanding safety issues. Such meetings are held every 6 to 12 months. Prior to the meeting the NII team inspected various parts of the plant.
To meet the requirements of the site licence, each reactor at Heysham is shutdown at least every three years. During the periodic shutdown, safety related components that are not available or cannot be reached with the reactor operating are thoroughly inspected and any necessary maintenance is carried out. NII only gives its consent to the restart of the reactor when it is satisfied that all relevant examinations and maintenance work are complete and the results demonstrate that the plant can operate safely for a further three years.
Pre-shutdown discussions, to agree the scope and detail of the work to be undertaken took place between BEGL and NII in January 2002, the shutdown of reactor 2 commenced as planned on 10 May 2002.
The NII Site Inspector carried out an enhanced programme of inspections during the period of the shutdown involving specialist inspectors to focus on a number of key areas including radiological control, management of radioactive waste, staff competencies, control of contractors, conventional safety, quality management, graphite core inspections, weld assessments, reactor pressure vessel matters, electrical circuit breaker maintenance and boiler chemical clean. The inspections generally found that the station was completing its periodic shutdown scope of work satisfactorily.
An enhanced programme of reactor core fuel channel inspections and improvements to the assessment process had been specified for the reactor 2 shutdown following the discovery of cracks in core graphite bricks at Heysham 1 and other AGR power stations during 2001. The cracking of core bricks is a known and predicted ageing condition for irradiated graphite. Following the inspections, BEGL reported that some cracks had been observed in the graphite core bricks. NII's specialist graphite inspector carried out a detailed review of the inspection results to ensure the observations were within the safety case expectations and concluded the case was satisfactory to support the return to service of reactor 2.
During the course of the periodic shutdown the licensee further developed its structural integrity analysis associated with the boiler support spine safety case. A revised safety case paper was presented to take account of ongoing accelerated weld material ageing data. NII's assessment concluded that the interim safety case was satisfactory to support the return to service of reactor 2 but noted that further work will be necessary to consolidate the position.
Following an inspection of the site by NII inspectors a formal start up meeting was held on 18 June 2002. The meeting identified a number of actions which were subsequently closed out and NII concluded that it was satisfied the reactor could return to power for a further period of operation. A Consent to start up reactor 2 was granted by NII on 9 July 2002.
The NII carried out a number of inspections prior to agreeing on 21 June 2002 to Heysham 2 (and Hinkley Point B and the Corporate Centre) implementing the new version of BE's work management system. In doing so, the NII fully recognised the significant effort which the station put in to meet the needs of the project, particularly with respect to the training of staff.
A meeting was held on 23 May 2002 to discuss the programme of work associated with the forthcoming periodic shutdown of reactor 7 at Heysham 2. A small number of points require clarifying, however, the NII were generally satisfied with the station's proposals. Periodic shutdowns take place every 3 years on each reactor and a Consent is required from the NII before the reactor is allowed to start up again.
The annual joint NII/EA review meeting with Heysham 1 was held on 2 May 2002 and with Heysham 2 on 30 April 2002. On both occasions a number of issues of common interest were discussed together with a review of events and a forward look. A joint inspection of selected areas of the plant, focusing on the fuel storage pond and active effluent treatment plant, was carried out. Outside the meeting the NII and EA site inspectors discussed their inspection plans for the forthcoming year and confirmed that these reflect current NII/EA regulatory working arrangements.
Both NII Site Inspectors attended the LCLC meeting on 10 May 2002. NII inspection activities for the last period were summarised and responses provided to any questions raised by members.
As part of our planned inspection of the Stations we examine safety related events which have occurred and the Licensee's response to them. From such inspections we are satisfied that the events which have occurred during the period were relatively minor and responses by the Stations have been appropriate. Within our last quarterly report we reported on the Heysham 1 fuelling machine grab incident and can now provide the following update.
The NII site inspector has continued to carefully monitor the station's follow up actions resulting from the fuelling machine grab interlock failure event. We are satisfied that the actions identified by the station should further strengthen working practices within the fuel route area and bring about improvements to overall station safety performance. The work is being completed within the agreed timescales and NII will continue to monitor progress in this area.
The following regulatory documentation was issued during the quarter:
Published on the HSE web site 27 August 2002