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 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.
A total of 20 different NII inspectors visited the Aldermaston and Burghfield sites during the quarter. Inspections were made on the following days:
| Aldermaston | 28 April - 2 May 7-8 May13-14 May20-23 May2-5 June12 June17 June23-25 June30 June | ||
| Burghfield | 30 April 7 May4 June12 June25 June | ||
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) Warning notices.
(h) Arrangements for the control of modifications to existing plants.
(i) Safety instructions to persons on the site.
(j) Arrangements for the notification, recording, investigation and reporting of incidents on the site.
Issues arising from these and previous inspections are being pursued. Inspections were made also by HSE's factory inspectors, explosives inspectors, and fire surveyor.
The nuclear site licence requires licensees to make and implement adequate arrangements for the production of safety cases and the independent assessment of those safety cases. At AWE this second activity is called Acceptance Review, and is the means by which persons independent of the production of a case confirm that it reaches appropriate conclusions on the basis of good evidence and sound argument. In April a team of four NII inspectors examined Acceptance Review at Aldermaston and Burghfield. They found it robust and well resourced, with some features that constituted industry best practice. It was very interactive, which means that its independence needs to be closely monitored. NII has issued a formal report containing a small number of recommendations for improvement of both Acceptance Review and safety case production.
During the quarter 10 specialist inspectors have made presentations to audiences of AWE plc staff on their specialist subjects as part of NII's strategy of engaging with licensees to ensure better safety cases. (These accounted for the unusually high number of inspectors visiting the sites during this quarter.)
A team from AWE plc visited NII at its headquarters seeking NII's views on its safety performance and objectives, as an input to its strategic planning process.
An inspection found the licensee's provisions for measuring neutron doses during major accidents to be satisfactory.
In May NII witnessed the testing of a special vessel being developed to contain experiments, for possible use in the new Hydrodynamics Research Facility. The test, which was performed at a site near Carlisle, was successful.
Meetings have been held to discuss plans to decommission the Central Boilerhouse and provide a natural gas supply to each facility for heating. The new gas main will affect safety on the site, and a safety case is therefore being produced.
Nothing to report this quarter.
As part of its regulation under the nuclear site licences NII issues formal regulatory documents, which include Consents, Approvals, Directions, and Licence Instruments 1.
No such documents were issued during this quarter.
12. HSE regulates both sites under the Fire Certificates (Special Premises) Regulations 1976. Following a number of planned inspections four Notices (three for Burghfield and one for Aldermaston) were issued under regulation 8 requiring steps to be taken to improve fire precautions and so allow new fire certificates to be issued.
13. No other issues have arisen that have required formal regulatory action.
Licence 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 29 September 2003