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 Hunterston A Power Station, Site Stakeholder Group and covers activities associated with the regulation of safety at Hunterston A Power Station. These reports are distributed quarterly. Site Inspectors of HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate attend SSG meetings and will be happy to respond to questions raised there by members of the SSG. Any other person wishing to inquire about matters covered by this report should contact the HSE, Nuclear Directorate on 0151-951-3484/3290 .
This report will be put onto the HSE website at: www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear/index.htm under the heading: Local Liaison Committee Reports.
Mr P Ford is the new site inspector and has replaced Mr J Burrows as of 1 st April.
Three site inspections were conducted this quarter:
The first of these visits provided an introduction and familiarisation for Mr Ford to the Hunterston A site. The second inspection, aimed at verifying Magnox Electric’s safety arrangements, covered:
The third inspection, aimed at verifying Magnox Electric’s safety arrangements, covered:
The inspection of LC 11 & 35 covered emergency arrangements, which were found to be adequate. Two relatively minor issues were found: lack of a final audit check for a procedure and some emergency response posts that were not identified on the training register, although the inspector was assured that training was provided.
None.
The Inspectorate has power under the Licence to issue Consents, Approvals and Directions. In addition the Inspectorate uses Licence Instruments to issue Specifications and Agreements under the conditions attached to the Licence.
The relative humidity in the reactor pressure vessels is covered by an Operating Rule, which limits the allowable relative humidity to 75%. This Rule is in place to ensure the rate of corrosion of metal reactor components is low. Now that the pressure vessel is open to atmosphere and the area is unheated, weather conditions in May trend to conspire to raise relative humidity levels to close to this limit. In May, there was a danger that the limit and hence the Operating Rule would be breached. There is now evidence that the rate of corrosion is very low and the need for the Operating Rule has been questioned. The inspectorate was satisfied that a temporary suspension of the Rule for 3 months could be justified, and issued an Agreement to this effect.
| Number | Date | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 504 | 28th April 2006 | Agreement under licence condition 23(6) to temporarily suspend operating rule 3 for a period not exceeding 3 months |
Mr. P J Ford
Hunterston A Site Inspector
HM Principal Inspector (Health and Safety)
Health and Safety Executive
HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate
Merton Rd
Bootle
Merseyside L20 7HS
July 2006