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 Dounreay Site Stakeholder Group (DSSG) and covers activities associated with the regulation of safety at Dounreay. These reports are distributed quarterly and are available also from the Internet at http://www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear/index.htm. Site Inspectors of HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (part of the Health and Safety Executive’s Nuclear Directorate) normally attend the Dounreay SSG meetings and will be happy to respond to questions raised there or subsequently by members of the Dounreay SSG. Any other person wishing to inquire about matters covered by this report should contact the HSE’s, Nuclear Directorate on 0151-951-3484/3290.
Nuclear DirectorateNII Site Inspectors and Specialist Inspectors visited Dounreay on the following dates:
Compliance inspections were undertaken against a number of the Licence Conditions. No major issues were raised.
The NII Inspection Team attended the Dounreay Annual Review of Safety Meeting and the semi annual Dounreay Regulatory Forum Meeting both of which were held in November 2006. The topics discussed at these meetings included, Dounreay Cementation Plant (DCP) restart activities, UKAEA restructuring, the Dounreay Site Restoration Plan (DSRP) and site emergency arrangements.
NII presented an overview of safety performance at Dounreay over the course of the last year. NII considered that there had been a number of positive aspects to identify. NII welcomed the safety initiatives recently introduced on the site such as those relating to behavioural safety and control of work. There has been a good response to the DCP incident and there are no outstanding issues from the DCP investigation report. NII is content with progress on implementing the required improvements across the site. NII were pleased with the progress being made in a number of decommissioning activities aimed at reducing potential hazards on the site. For example, good progress is being made at DFR in the work to remove the NaK and the decommissioning of DMTR. However, NII expressed concern over the number of recent events at Dounreay, including a potential plutonium intake in the Fuel Cycle Area, liquor spills at D2670 and the Shaft and several contamination incidents across the site.
Preparations for hands-on decontamination work at DCP have been found to be progressing satisfactorily. Arrangements for restart are at an early stage and further inspection by NII will be required.
The NII investigation into the events in D2670 identified a number of failings against the Site Licence Conditions and other Health and Safety legislation. The appropriate level of regulatory action is being considered.
Following consultation with SEPA, NII agreed to UKAEA constructing a grout curtain around the Dounreay Shaft. The curtain will reduce groundwater flows through the Shaft and will enable water level reductions required during waste retrieval operations.
Following the discovery of a significantly radioactive particle on a part of the Dounreay foreshore that is within the licensed site boundary, NII discussed the monitoring regime and potential sources of particles with UKAEA. UKAEA agreed to review controls on access to the foreshore.
NII is regulating the removal of breeder elements from DFR through the stages of design, construction, commissioning and operation. A number of Inspectors are involved addressing different specialist areas. Two Inspectors visited SGN in France to inspect the process cell equipment and manipulator operations as part of the inspection work to agree to the remaining construction and installation of the breeder removal plant and equipment.
The future of DSRP has been discussed with UKAEA. There is a significant degree of duplication between the contents of DSRP and the Dounreay Life Time Plan (LTP). Maintaining two almost identical plans is deemed an inefficient use of resources. There was agreement that the LTP has now attained a sufficient degree of maturity that it could potentially replace DSRP as the means for achieving regulatory oversight of decommissioning and restoration of the Dounreay site. DSRP was one of the major outcomes from the 1998 Audit and consequently any move to replace DSRP with the LTP needs prior engagement with stakeholders, particularly those in the local community. The move from DSRP to LTP will also require a change to the approved arrangements made under LC 35. This will be progressed with UKAEA in due course.
NII attended a meeting in Edinburgh to consider a range of candidate end states being proposed for the Dounreay site. NII does not have a preference on any of the five options being considered for the site end state.
The Inspectorate has powers under the licence to issue Consents, Approvals and Directions. In addition, the Inspectorate uses Licence Instruments to issue Specifications, Acknowledgements, and Agreements under either the conditions attached to the Licence, or arrangements made by UKAEA for complying with those conditions. NII has issued the following Licence Instruments during the 4th quarter of 2006:
| LI No. 530 | Agreement to construction of grout curtain around the Dounreay shaft. |