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 Hartlepool Local Community Liaison Council and covers activities associated with the regulation of safety at Hartlepool Power Station. These reports are distributed quarterly. Site Inspectors of HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (part of the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Directorate) attend LCLC meetings and will be happy to respond there to questions raised by members of the LCLC. Any person wishing to inquire about matters covered by this report should contact the HSE, Nuclear Directorate Information Centre on 0151 951 4103.
The site inspector visited the site on six occasions during the quarter:
1st to 2nd AprilSpecialist NII inspectors also visited the site during the period to inspect arrangements during the Reactor 2 statutory outage. The responsible Superintending Inspector also visited site for the start up meeting to consider the station's request for restarting Reactor 2 after its outage.
As part of their routine work NII inspectors inspect for compliance against the requirements of the Station's Nuclear Site Licence, the Health and Safety at Work Act and other relevant safety legislation. They monitor events, plant operations, projects, modifications and safety case changes and any other matters which are important to safety. Planned inspections during the quarter included the station's arrangements for maintenance of gas circulators and air circuit breakers (LC 28), training (LC 10), control of contractors (LC 17) and progress with work associated with the statutory shutdown of Reactor 2 (LC 30). Accompanied by a colleague, the site inspector inspected the station's record and arrangements for managing safety related events (LC 7). The site inspector also attended a formal meeting at site to review progress with the consolidated boiler spine safety case (LC 14) and he attended the LCLC meeting on 19th June.
In general the station's arrangements were found to be satisfactory, with a commitment to accommodate the improvements identified.
The site inspector attended a formal meeting at site on 1st April to progress BE's work to consolidate the safety case in the light of potential reheat cracking of certain boiler spine welds at Hartlepool and Heysham 1. The meeting covered the broad spectrum of work being undertaken by BE including accelerated materials testing, which now indicates that there may no longer be a potential for reheat cracking during the anticipated reactor lives at measured weld temperatures. The revised safety case will be subject to assessment by NII's specialists when it has been considered by the station's Nuclear Safety Committee.
In compliance with licence condition 30 the station shut down reactor 2 in May for maintenance and inspection. The site inspector and numerous specialist colleagues inspected progress and results in all significant plant areas - structural integrity of steel pressure boundary components and the pre-stressed concrete pressure vessel, examination of the graphite core, control of radiation health physics during the outage, control of work and contractors and industrial safety, including control of working hours on site. All the planned work was successfully completed and results of inspections have been demonstrated to be consistent with relevant safety cases. Following a final inspection on site and a formal start up meeting with the station on 3rd June NII issued a consent for the reactor to re-start on 6th June.
The site inspector has continued to monitor the effectiveness of the revised procedures introduced by WMP. Several events during the Reactor 2 outage indicate that there remains scope for improvement. The site inspector will work with the station during the next few months to determine priorities for improving aspects related to protection of staff and contractors working on the plant.
As part of their planned inspection site inspectors examine safety related events that have occurred and the Licensee's response to them. Generally the Licensee's internal system for following up events is robust and the appropriate actions are implemented. During the quarter the site inspector investigated several events in detail, one of which is summarised below.
During dismantling work associated with turbine generator refurbishment the lifting gear attached to a massive turbine component failed. The site inspector investigated the event and agreed improved procedures to avoid a similar event before the lift was continued. He also agreed with the station that the procedures for similar lifts will be reviewed before their application in future.
In response to an observed overall increase between 2001 and 2002 in the number of safety-related events reported from British Energy sites, inspectors visited each site to look into the licensee's management of such events. In general they found that the number of events in 2002 was similar to the average for earlier years, whereas 2001 had witnessed an improvement that had not been sustained at all sites. Nevertheless the Inspectorate would prefer to see a downward trend (while not wishing to disturb the open reporting culture that was found at all the sites) and expects to the able to make recommendations to the licensee to help them achieve that, largely through better use of Operational Experience Feedback. At Hartlepool there was actually a decrease in the number of events reported from 2001 to 2002 and the findings on the way these were handled is expected to make a useful contribution to our overall recommendations.
British Energy Generation (UK) Ltd announced on 2nd July 2003 its intention to close its Peel Park office in East Kilbride and transfer a number of operational jobs to its Barnwood offices in Gloucester. The location of a Licensee's offices is a matter for the Licensee, but NII will need to be fully satisfied that the safety implications of the proposed move are properly addressed. British Energy has confirmed that its proposal falls within the scope of Licence Condition 36, "Control of Organisational Change", and that it will be controlled using the arrangements made to comply with this Licence Condition. NII has told British Energy that it will not be allowed to implement this proposal until it has submitted the safety case and NII has assessed this and agreed that nuclear safety will be maintained.
The Inspectorate has powers under the Nuclear Site Licence to issue Consents, Approvals and Directions. In addition, the Inspectorate uses Licence Instruments to issue Specifications and Agreements under the conditions attached to the Site Licence. The following regulatory documentation was issued during the reporting period:
(i) Consent number 13, allowing the station to start-up Reactor 2.Published on the HSE web site 3 November 2003