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 Barrow-in-Furness Local Liaison committee (LLC) and covers activities associated with the regulation of nuclear safety at BAE SYSTEMS Marine Limited (BAESM). These reports are distributed quarterly.
Site Inspectors of HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate normally attend LLC meetings and will be happy to respond to 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.
This report will be put onto the HSE Website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear/index.htm.The majority of sites inspected by HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) a part of the Health and Safety Executive, are licensed by NII under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (as amended). This report summarises the inspection and regulatory activities associated with the Barrow-in-Furness licensed site. In accordance with the HSE commitments to open government, this report will also be placed on the Internet.
Visits are made to the site for the purpose of undertaking routine plant and project inspections or attending formal meetings with site management or safety representatives. Routine inspections by NII are undertaken primarily to check compliance with licence conditions made under the Nuclear Installations Act, but are also made against provisions of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, and regulations made under that Act such as the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999. The site inspector visited site on:
10-12 January 2006
26 January 2006
31 January – 2 February 2006
14 February 2006
23 February 2006
7-9 March 2006
14 March 2006
In addition, the NII superintending inspector visited the site on 26 January 2006
Matters covered in this section are those being pursued with the site as part of ongoing site inspection activity and dialogue including project work and any generic or topical work relevant to all licensees.
As part of the routine inspection programme for the sites NII check compliance with licence conditions made under the Nuclear Installations Act and other Regulations such as the Ionising Radiation Regulations 1999.
NII inspectors in conjunction with inspectors from MoD’s Naval Nuclear Regulatory Panel (NNRP) inspected BAESM’s compliance with its arrangements for controlling organisational changes that may affect safety. The arrangements overall were considered adequate, but it was recognised that they might need amendment as experience of their use was gained, especially if the circumstances surrounding the organisational change were particularly sensitive. A limited sample of the paperwork supporting changes that had already been implemented was examined and provided evidence that, while there were no concerns about the changes themselves, BAESM’s compliance with its arrangements was variable and in some instances below the expected standard. However, because the sample was limited, and before considering their options and committing to a course of action, the inspectors decided to ask BAESM’s own site inspectors to inspect and determine the extent of non-compliance within the Company, and to report their findings to NII and NNRP by the end of 2006.
BAESM has identified the need to change its quality management systems and the content and presentation of its safety cases to reflect current, relevant good practice and has proposed and embarked on strategies to achieve this. NII welcomes these BAESM initiatives and has undertaken to support the Company through a strategy of proactively monitoring progress, and offering advice and encouragement when relevant and appropriate.
Matters involving NII’s response to incidents/events and to non-routine issues arising from operation of the sites are covered in this section together with the outcome of any special/team inspections, investigations or audits.
There is nothing of significance concerning the licensed site to report in this section for the quarter.
HMNII issues formal regulatory documents called licence instruments where these are called for under conditions attached to the nuclear site licence. Regulatory responsibility for authorising discharges and disposal of radioactive wastes from the sites lies with the Environment Agency.
No formal regulatory documents were issued by NII for the Barrow site during the quarter.
Barrow-in-Furness Site Inspector
HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate