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 Dungeness Power Stations’ Site Stakeholder Group (SSG) and covers activities associated with the regulation of safety at Dungeness A Nuclear Power Station. These reports are distributed quarterly and are also available on the HSE’s web site. Site Inspectors of HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate attend SSG meetings and will respond to questions raised there by members of the SSG. Any other person wishing to inquire about matters covered by this report may contact the HSE’s Nuclear Directorate on 0151 951 3484/3290. This report will be put onto the HSE website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear/llc/index.htm
Nuclear Directorate
Health and Safety Executive
Redgrave Court
Merton Road
Bootle
Merseyside
L20 7HS
The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) Site Inspector visited Dungeness A during the quarter. Inspections were made on the following days: -
Routine 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 covered:
The Station demonstrated their emergency arrangements to a good standard at the annual level 1 emergency exercise.
HSE have reviewed some of the Station’s technical strategies for intermediate and low level waste disposal and have found them to be of a good standard. HSE are also liaising with Magnox to provide decommissioning arrangements aimed at providing safe management control of future decommissioning activities.
HSE were disappointed to discover fire doors in the Health Physics building in a poor state of repair. Access to the building was restricted pending refurbishment of fire doors and escapes. The Station held a site standdown to emphasise fire safety issues.
After the station shuts down in December, defuelling and decommissioning will be the main activities. Safety cases for defuelling and decommissioning remain high on HSE’s agenda and were again the focus of the quarter’s activities.
Following cessation of generation, the Station are proposing reduced manning for emergencies. HSE have observed a shift exercise with the new arrangements but have yet to be convinced that it is appropriate to reduce manning so early in the defuelling cycle. However, dialogue continues and HSE will continue to observe shift exercises.
Dungeness A will undergo two major organisational changes next year:
As part of its regulation under nuclear site licences, NII issues regulatory documents, collectively termed Licence Instruments. No licence Instruments have been issued this quarter.
Under Health and Safety legislation the Site Inspector, or other HSE Inspectors, may issue formal notices to secure improvements to safety. No such notices were issued during the reporting period.