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 Chapelcross Local Li-aison Committee (LLC) and covers activities associated with the regulation of safety at Chapelcross Power Station. These reports are distributed quarterly. Site Inspec-tors of HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate normally attend LLC meetings and will be happy to respond to any questions raised there or subsequently by members of the LLC. Any other person wishing to inquire about matters covered by this report should contact the HSE, Nuclear Directorate Information Centre on 0151-951-4103.
The HMNII Site Inspector made the following planned visits during the period:
19 - 22 April
18 - 20 May
29 - 30 June
Other HMNII Inspectors visited the site during the quarter to discuss the safety case for CXPP and to witness the Level 1 Emergency Exercise "AVRIL".
Compliance with Site Licence Conditions
Routine inspections continued throughout the period to check compliance with the conditions attached to the Nuclear Site Licence. During the quarter work was in hand to improve the arrangements covering restrictions on the lifting of heavy loads, the identification of mandatory training and the controls covering the defeat of inter-locks. BNFL was also requested to ensure that the introduction of new or amended safety cases, that could have a significant effect on nuclear safety, required clear-ance from the Inspectorate.
Incidents on Site
The management and recording of events that occurred on the station during the pe-riod were inspected. Most of the events were relatively minor however several events were followed up in more detail with appropriate BNFL staff.
Meetings attended
The Chapelcross Steering Group was attended on 19/5/2004 where the results of the Level 1 Exercise "AVRIL" were discussed.
Level 1 Emergency Exercises
A team from the Inspectorate witnessed the Level 1 Exercise
"AVRIL" on 21/4/2004.
BNFL concluded that the exercise was not an adequate demonstration
of their emergency arrangements and confirmed that the arrangements
themselves would be reviewed. The team from the Inspectorate
concurred with BNFL's views. One of the issues arising was the
poor cooperation between BNFL and the fire brigade, which was a
concern as the site relies almost entirely on the fire brigade to
deal with fires that could compromise nuclear safety. It was agreed
that a full repeat demon-stration would be carried out at a future
date to be agreed with the Inspectorate.
Electricity Generation
On 29/6/2004 BNFL announced the cessation of electricity generation at Chapel-cross, as it could not be justified commercially, and confirmed that effort would be re-focused on preparing for the defuelling and decommissioning phases of the station's life. The Inspectorate continued to give high priority during the quarter to work on the absorber replacement project and the pond safety case project.
Absorber Replacement Project
A safety case covering the injection of signals into the reactor safety circuits, be-cause of the decayed reactor neutron sources, was submitted by BNFL. The case required an amendment to the Approved Operating Rules. The relevant Approval was granted by the Inspectorate thereby permitting the recommencement of ab-sorber replacement.
Pond Safety Case Project
The Inspectorate assessed submissions made by BNFL during the quarter. Issues associated with the integrity of the pond structure, the integrity of the flask handling crane, and lid security remained outstanding at the end of the quarter.
Fuel Route Improvement Project
This project, which covers the fuel routes at both Chapelcross and Calder Hall, was initiated following the dropped fuel basket at Chapelcross in 2001. Associated sub-missions continued to be assessed during the quarter. The catch pot grab event, re-ported during the previous quarter, has implications for this project and at the end of the quarter the Inspectorate was awaiting a response from BNFL on this and other matters.
Site Licence:
The Inspectorate has powers under the Nuclear Site Licence to issue Consents, Ap-provals and Directions. In addition, the Inspectorate uses Licence Instruments to is-sue Specifications and Agreements under the conditions attached to the Site Li-cence.
Approval No 55 was issued on 25/6/2004. The Approval covers an amendment to the Operating Rules to permit the injection of signals into the reactor safety circuits.
Published on the HSE web site 2 November 2004
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