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HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate

MAGNOX ELECTRIC plc

DUNGENESS A POWER STATION

LOCAL COMMUNITY LIAISON COUNCIL

Quarterly report for 1 JULY - 30 SEPTEMBER 2003

CONTENTS

Inspections
 Routine Matters
 Non Routine Matters
 Regulatory Activity

FOREWORD

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 Dungeness Power Station Local Community Liaison Council (LCLC) and covers activities associated with the regulation of safety at Dungeness A Nuclear Power Plant. Site Inspectors of HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate attend LCLC 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.

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INSPECTIONS

1. A total of 5 different NII Inspectors visited the Dungeness A site during the quarter. Inspections were made on the following days:

7-10 July
22-24 July
15-18 September

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ROUTINE MATTERS

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:

  1. Provision and assessment of safety cases and compliance with arrangements made under licence conditions.
  2. Management of operations and maintenance.
  3. Control and supervision of operations.
  4. Operating rules, instructions and operational records.
  5. Arrangements for investigating incidents.
  6. Management of radioactive waste
  7. Warning Notices

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NON-ROUTINE MATTERS

3. Unplanned Reactor Shutdowns: In this qarter there have been two unplanned shutdowns, one as a result of seaweed ingress into the cooling water system. The other most recent shutdown was a double automatic reactor shutdown due to an instrument failure that consequently led to failure of a standby boiler feed pump to operate in time. NII was content with the conservative way that Station staff reacted to these events, no safety operating limits or conditions were exceeded.

4. Low Level Waste Accumulation. The site inspector has asked the Station to reduce more quickly the backlog of accumulated LLW held in ISO containers around the site. A programme of work has been presented to the NII, which, if met, should see visible improvements by the end of 2004.

5. Safety Case Issues. The NII completed its assessment of the structural integrity aspects of the reactor pressure vessel safety case. This represents the culmination of a significant amount of work undertaken at Dungeness A to give confidence that, subject to annual review, the RPV safety case is fit for purpose to the end of station life in December 2006.

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REGULATORY ACTIVITIES.

6. 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 Dungeness A, during the quarter NII issued one such document: -

Approval No 18 - Approving amendments to the operational limits and conditions under which the reactor pressure vessel must operate.


[1] 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 17 November 2003