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 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 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..
1. NII inspections were made on the 27-29 April and 25-27 May 2004. (Inspections are also made at Amersham plc's nuclear licensed sites at Cardiff (the Maynard Centre) and Harwell. Where these are relevant to the Grove Centre they are included below. For instance, the sites have many arrangements in common for compliance with the conditions attached to their site licences.)
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:
a. Management of the health and safety function.
b. Management of operations.
c. Emergency arrangements.
d. Arrangements for deriving Operating Rules and designating Safety
Mechanisms, Devices, and Circuits.
e. Arrangements for the control of modifications to existing
plants.
f. Arrangements for the notification, recording, investigation, and
reporting of incidents on the site.
g. Arrangements for the control of organisational change.
3. Issues arising from these and previous inspections are being pursued.
4. Acquisition by General Electric: As expected, the licensee, Amersham plc, was acquired by General Electric during this quarter, and now forms part of GE Healthcare. NII has given particular attention to the consequent organisational changes to ensure that:
NII has written to the board director responsible for nuclear safety, expressing concern on these questions. Inspections and discussions to resolve them continue.
5. Safety Representatives: As part of the UK system for health and safety, recognised trade unions appoint safety representatives from among the employees. HSE has an objective of promoting and supporting the role of these representatives. In this quarter discussions have been held both with management and representatives with that aim.
6. No statutorily reportable radiological incidents were notified to NII in this quarter.
7 As part of its regulation under the nuclear site licence NII issues formal regulatory documents, which include Consents, Approvals, Directions, and Licence Instruments . No such documents were issued during this quarter.
8 No other issues have arisen that have required formal regulatory action.
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 16 June 2004