CONTENTS

• Inspections
• Routine Matters
• Non Routine Matter
• Regulatory Activity

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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 Local Community Liaison Council and covers activities associated with the regulation of safety at Dungeness B Nuclear Power Station. These reports are distributed quarterly and are available on the HSE web site (hse.gov.uk/nuclear/llc/2004/index.htm). Site Inspectors of HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (part of the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Safety Directorate) attend LCLC meetings and will be happy to respond to any questions raised there by members of the LCLC. Any other person wishing to inquire about matters covered by this report should contact the HSE's Nuclear Safety Directorate Information Centre on 0151 951 4103.

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INSPECTIONS

1. The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) Site Inspector and/or his assistant visited Dungeness B on the following dates during the quarter covered by this report:

6 - 8 July
15 July
9 - 13 August
24 - 26 August
6 - 9 September
27 - 30 September

2. Other NII inspectors with specialist technical expertise also visited
Dungeness B and other British Energy establishments during the period to support the Site Inspector by performing inspections on specific aspects of the Licensee's nuclear safety case.

3. Dungeness B was also visited by Miss V Dews, HSE's Director of Resources and Planning, and Mr C Patchett, NII's Superintending Inspector with responsibility for overseeing the regulation of nuclear safety at a number of nuclear power stations, including Dungeness 'B'.

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ROUTINE MATTERS

4. Compliance Inspections: Routine planned inspections are carried out throughout the year and enable NII to judge whether a Licensee is complying with the conditions attached to the Nuclear Site Licence, the Ionising Radiations Regulations, and other relevant statutory provisions on a sampling basis. NII was generally satisfied that Dungeness B had shown satisfactory compliance.

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NON-ROUTINE MATTERS

5. Incidents on Site: As part of routine, planned inspections the Site Inspector examined the licensee's arrangements for the recording and investigation of incidents at the power station and, where appropriate, undertook independent investigations to the extent that was warranted by the significance of the incident.

6. Work Management: A specialist inspection was carried out from 13 - 16 September to assess the Licensee's readiness for the proposed introduction of a replacement computerised work management package. The inspection identified some issues, which the Licensee undertook to address, but found that, in general, the Licensee had satisfactorily completed the activities inspected. As such NII offered no objection to the implementation of the new arrangements.

7. Risk Assessment: The previous report mentioned a pressure test failure on 20 May 2004 as a result of which the site inspector issued a Prohibition Notice to ban pneumatic pressure testing of plant and equipment at Dungeness B. This applies until the Licensee has ensured that pneumatic pressure tests are carried out only where necessary and, only then, under a safe system of work. The Notice reinforced the Licensee's own self-imposed suspension of such tests.

Following further specialist investigation, an Improvement Notice was served on 8 July 2004 with respect to the Licensee's wider arrangements for risk assessment and the implementation of appropriate control measures. The terms of this Notice must be complied with by 13 January 2005.

The need for the Licensee to review and, where reasonably practicable, improve their arrangements for risk assessment was highlighted by an event, on 23 August, in which a live electric supply cable embedded in a concrete floor was severed during a drilling operation. Fortunately no one was injured as a result of this event, and there was only very limited impact on nuclear safety.

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REGULATORY ACTIVITY

8. NII has powers within the standard Nuclear Site Licence Conditions to issue Consents, Approvals and Directions. In addition NII uses Licence Instruments to issue Specifications and Agreements under the conditions attached to the Licence.

In accordance with formal regulatory procedure, NII issued the following document under Site Licence No. 61 during the reporting period:

· Licence Instrument No. G6 was issued on 28 July 2004 to Specify that the Licensee submits to HSE for approval a submission relating to a proposed change in the top management of British Energy Generation.

· Licence Instrument No. G8 was issued on 30 July 2004 to Agree to this proposed change.

9. Under Health and Safety legislation the Site Inspector, or other HSE Inspectors, may issue formal notices in the interest of safety. The following Improvement Notice was issued following specialist investigation of the pressure test failure discussed in paragraph 7 above.

Improvement Notice I/2004/nuclear/PWS/002 was issued on 8 July 2004 to require the Licensee to improve their arrangements for ensuring, so far as is reasonably practicable, that suitable and sufficient risk assessments are made and that preventive and protective measures are subject to appropriate control.