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 GE Healthcare Ltd Maynard Centre Local Liaison Committee (LLC) and covers activities associated with the regulation of safety at the site. These reports are distributed quarterly and are available also from the Internet at www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear/llc/index.htm. Site Inspectors of HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate attend LLC meetings and will be happy to respond to any questions raised there by members. Any other person wishing to enquire about matters covered by this report may contact HSE’s Nuclear Directorate on 0151-951- 3484/3290.
NII inspections were made on 23–24 August 2006. (Inspections are also made at GE Healthcare Ltd’s nuclear licensed sites at Amersham (the Grove Centre) and Harwell. Where these are relevant to the Maynard Centre they are included below. For instance, the sites have many arrangements in common for compliance with the conditions attached to their site licences.)
[back to top]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 included:
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Annual Safety Review Meeting: The meeting for 2006 was held at the Grove Centre but, as usual, covered all four nuclear licensed sites. It was well supported by GE Healthcare Ltd; site directors of all its licensed sites attended, with their supporting managers, as well as the member of the board responsible for safety assurance. The licensee’s safety performance and plans were discussed, and NII indicated a number of topics that would be given particular regulatory attention in the coming year.
Emergency Arrangements: In recognition of the site’s (a) low hazard and (b) good performance in recent demonstration exercises, NII has decided to allow a two-year gap until the next demonstration exercise. The major exercise planned for October 2006, whose scenario has been agreed with NII, will go ahead as a training exercise and will still involve the fire, police, and ambulance services. NII will not attend, but will receive the licensee’s report on the exercise.
The exercise will test, among other things, the new back-up Emergency Control Room, which was inspected—as was the new Security Control Room.
Carbon 14: A meeting was held with the licensee and the Environment Agency to discuss the licensee’s study on future options for wastes containing carbon–14. It was agreed that the recycling option, in Project Paragon, could now be regarded as closed, it having proved impossible to develop a practical process. The licensee has proposed a new strategy, which will be assessed by both regulators.
No statutorily reportable incidents were notified to NII in this quarter.
As part of its regulation under the nuclear site licence NII issues formal regulatory documents, which include Consents, Approvals, Directions, and Licence Instruments[1]. No such documents were issued in this quarter.
No other issues have arisen that have required formal regulatory action.Licence Instruments are issued: to acknowledge receipt of specified documents, eg proposals for a new or modified plant; to stipulate whether the Inspectorate intends to examine these documents; or to agree to the start of a particular phase of construction, commissioning, modification, or decommissioning.