Health and Safety
Executive / Commission
Nuclear
LLC reports
Inspections
Routine Matters
Non Routine Matters
Regulatory Activity
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 Amersham plc, Grove Centre Local Liaison Committee (LLC) and covers activities associated with the regulation of safety at the site. These reports are distributed quarterly. Site Inspectors of HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate attend LLC meetings and will be happy to respond to questions raised there 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.
Visits by the NII to the Grove Centre site were made on 29 April - 1 May and 17 - 19 June 2003.
The main thrust of NII activity during the period of this report has been regulatory compliance and the health and safety issues associated with a new plant project proposed by Amersham.
Routine compliance inspection of plant was carried out to the inspection plan and the site inspector on each of his visits has inspected parts of the site. Particular attention has been paid to the compliance by the licensee with Licence Conditions 7 (Incidents on the Site), 8 (Warning Notices) and 24 (Operating Instructions). The fundamental requirements needed for compliance with Licence Conditions 7 and 24 was noted. Full compliance with Licence Condition 8 could not be shown and Amersham has put measures in place to rectify some minor deficiencies.
A tri-partite meeting was held between the NII, Environment Agency and Amersham to discuss a proposed project for manufacturing a therapeutic product labelled with iodine-131 for the treatment of Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The meeting served to identify the principal radiological health and safety issues arising from the project. The NII has indicated to Amersham that it is likely to take regulatory control of the project under Licence Condition 19 (Construction or Installation of New Plant). Attendance of both the NII and Environment Agency at the meeting aids the application of effective and consistent regulation as required by the Memorandum of Understanding between the two regulators.
The NII Superintending Inspector covering the Grove Centre site moved to another post within the NII during the quarter. His successor is planning to make a familiarisation visit to the site in the future.
No statutory reportable radiological incidents have been notified to the NII this quarter.
Amersham has carried out an investigation into ventilation problems in a particular building following a temporary dip in the power supply to the site. The investigations highlighted a number of shortcomings in certain aspects of the management of safety systems on the site and Amersham has put forward recommendations to address these shortcomings. The site inspector has written to the Site Director requiring the site to provide a programme for completing the recommendations and also to re-enforce with staff across the site the importance of the key safety requirements for operating their plant.
No legal instruments were issued during the quarter.
Published on the HSE web site 3 October 2003