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 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.
1. A total of 19 different NII inspectors visited the Aldermaston and Burghfield sites during the quarter, including a routine visit from Mr L G Williams, HM Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations. Inspections were made on the following days:
| Aldermaston |
6 January 13-16 January 20-23 January 27 January 3-5 February 23-27 February 3-5 March 9-11March 23-26 March |
| Burghfield |
21-23 January 3 February 24 February 10 March |
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. a. Provision and assessment of safety cases and compliance with
arrangements made under licence conditions.
b. b. Management of facility operations and maintenance.
c. Proposals for new plants.
d. Emergency arrangements.
e. Decommissioning of redundant facilities.
f. Waste management.
g. Operating rules, operating instructions, and operational
records.
h. Safety mechanisms, devices, and circuits.
i. Arrangements for the control of modifications to existing
plants.
j. Arrangements for the notification, recording, investigation, and
reporting of incidents on the sites.
3.Issues arising from these and previous inspections are being pursued. Inspections were made also by HSE's factory inspectors, construction inspector and explosives inspectors.
NII participated in
a Quality Assurance audit of radioactive material transport with the
Department for Transport inspectors. Whilst working level
instructions were found to be reasonable, higher level and corporate
instructions were found to be in need of revision to bring them up to
modern standards and to meet legislative changes. Safety and security
of work at AWE is not compromised by these administrative
shortfalls.
5. Familiarisation/ Handover:
A number of inspections
have been carried out of AWE facilities, compliance arrangements, and
management, for familiarisation and handover to new nuclear site
inspectors who have replaced the existing NII site team. The NII site
team has returned to the level of 1 superintending inspector, 3 site
inspectors and 1 project inspector.
NII inspectors attended a workshop organised by AWE for its safety
representatives and contractors' safety representatives. The
workshop was well supported by AWE senior management.
An ILW management strategy meeting was held at which AWE provided its
programme of work for the treatment, storage and assay of all solid
ILW on site. This was attended by NII specialist assessors. The
conceptual design for the ILW treatment plant, segregation and
minimisation of wastes are to be addressed by routine meetings.
AWE gave HSE nuclear and explosives inspectors presentations on the
hydrodynamics testing capability. These covered possible options, and
facility improvements to address limitations and waste minimisation
issues with the existing older facilities.
The unsatisfactory aspects of the accident response of the 2003
Aldermaston site emergency exercise were exercised again on 25
February 2004. NII judged that there had been sufficient improvement
to consider the exercise to be an acceptable demonstration. The
participation of Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue, Royal Berkshire
Hospital, and for the February exercise, Royal Berkshire Ambulance
Trust, allowed AWE to demonstrate the interface and co-operation with
all the rescue, casualty handling, and treatment services.
At a meeting on the recommendations from the NII Criticality Team
inspection, carried out in February 2002, AWE committed to provide
submissions, which should allow NII to close out the remaining
issues.
Laurence Williams spent a day at Burghfield, where he visited the
nuclear licensed site. The Chief Inspector visited a number of
facilities and received a range of presentations from the
licensee.
12. As part of its regulation under the nuclear site licences NII issues formal regulatory documents, which include Consents, Approvals, Directions, and Licence Instruments .
13. Licence Instrument No 26 was an acknowledgement and agreement to start stage 3 of phase 3 decommissioning of a number of glove boxes in building A1.
14. No other issues have arisen that have required formal regulatory action.
Published on the HSE web site 8July 2004