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 Capenhurst Local Stakeholder Group (LSG) and covers activities associated with the regulation of safety at the Capenhurst Works. These reports are distributed quarterly and are available also from the Internet at http://www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear/index.htm. It is for distribution to members of the Capenhurst Local Stakeholder Group (LSG) and covers activities associated with the regulation of safety at the Capenhurst Works. Any other person wishing to inquire about matters covered by this report should contact the HSE’s Nuclear Directorate on 0151-951-4382.
Nuclear Safety Directorate
Health and Safety Executive
Redgrave Court
Merton Road
Bootle
Merseyside
L20 7HS
Inspectors from NII visited the site on the following dates:
17th April,
1st May,
15th, 20th, 21st, 28th & 29th June.
Each NII site inspector has an inspection programme, to inspect the licensee’s compliance against the 36 nuclear site licence conditions, over a period of time.
From 1st May, the site inspector also became the site inspector for the Urenco Capenhurst Ltd and Springfields Fuels Ltd nuclear licensed sites. An inspection programme will be prepared covering these three nuclear licensed sites, to reflect these wider duties.
The site inspector provided additional advice to the licensee on licence condition 6 regulatory requirements, (relating to documents, records, authorities and certificates) for the rationalisation of historic site records.
An inspection of the implementation of licence condition 7 arrangements (event reporting and investigation) showed that the licensee continued to apply adequate resources to the investigation and ‘learning from experience’ arising from minor site events.
With regard to licence condition 11, (emergency arrangements) the site inspector provided advice on the adequacy of the scope of a forthcoming emergency exercise, planned for ‘silent hours’, which will be observed by NII inspectors.
In respect of licence condition 36, (for the control of organisational change) discussions were held and regulatory advice was provided regarding the need for the licensee to retain adequate “core competence” and “intelligent customer” capabilities, as a result of the emerging proposals for the significant reduction in the site workforce, which the licensee is proposing. These proposed changes will follow the completion of the short term decommissioning projects. Specialist NII inspectors provided regulatory advice to the licensee, supporting the site inspector during these meetings. NII aims to agree appropriate regulatory review and hold points, in accordance with licence condition 36 arrangements, in the latter half 2007.
A further plant inspection was made of the licensee’s progress in the safe processing and interim storage of ‘down blended’ uranic materials. It had previously been understood that the ‘down blended’ uranic residues were only to remain on the Capenhurst site for a limited period, pending further processing and recycling at another licensed site. The licensee is now proposing to store these materials at Capenhurst for a significant length of time. The site inspector is pressing the licensee to achieve a higher standard of interim storage, to minimise the time for interim storage and to develop the interim storage safety case, to account for the proposed longer storage period on the site.
The annual review of safety and environmental matters was held at site on 21st June, (in conjunction with Environment Agency inspectors, to ensure ‘joined up’ regulation), with a broadly positive outcome. The licensee’s good progress with site decommissioning, whilst maintaining a strong safety performance, was favourably commented upon by the NII staff attending this review meeting. The important contribution made by the activities of the safety representatives was particularly noteworthy. The licensee was pressed to reinstate solid low level and very low level radioactive waste disposals from the site, (to the authorised disposal sites), which had disappointingly fallen to zero in this quarter, following the disposal of record quantities of such waste in the financial year which ended in March. The licensee is now responding to this NII pressure. NII inspectors visited the plant used both for processing, and the interim storage on site, prior to disposal, of solid low level radioactive wastes and other uranic materials, as part of the review.
The site inspector reported site inspection findings and forward inspection plans to the Local Stakeholder Group meetings held on 17th April (open evening meeting) and on 28th June.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, (NDA), the owner of the site, requires all of its sites to have an integrated ‘Life Time Plan’, for the decommissioning of the site. The site inspector participates at regulatory review meetings, involving NII, the Environment Agency, the licensee and NDA, reviewing the Lifetime Plan, in order to lobby for improvements to safety.
In particular, NII continues to actively press the licensee to develop the options to bring forward the date for the commencement of processing or disposing of the legacy “Hex Tails” uranic and other materials currently stored on site, taking account of wider developments. The licensee has provided the site inspector with visibility of the ongoing work to review acceleration options. NII was encouraged that the licensee was now actively engaged in reviewing the options to address the “Hex Tails” legacy, with a view to reducing the potential hazard from this legacy material, earlier than currently programmed in the 2007 Lifetime Plan. NII will continue to press for progress to be made by the licensee in the timely reduction of this medium term site hazard.
The site inspector also pressed for the timely disposal of solid low level and very low level radioactive wastes from the site and for the timely despatch of uranic residues.
There continue to be effective working relationships between the regulators, the licensee and the NDA at Capenhurst, which serve the interests of each party.
The site inspector continues to consult with the active site safety representatives during most visits to site. At the request of NII, safety representatives accompany the plant inspections and the site inspector also participated in a Safety Representatives Forum meeting during this quarter.
None.
No regulatory enforcement action was necessary in this quarter.
The Inspectorate has powers under the site licence to issue Consents, Approvals and Directions. In addition, the Inspectorate may use Licence Instruments to issue Specifications, Acknowledgements and Agreements, under either the conditions attached to the Licence, or arrangements made by British Nuclear Group Sellafield Limited, Capenhurst Works, for complying with those conditions.
No Licence Instruments were issued in this period.
The name of the nuclear licensee company changed from British Nuclear Group Sellafield Limited to Sellafield Limited at the end of June, at the behest of NDA.