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 Chapelcross Site Stakeholder Group (SSG) and covers activities associated with the regulation of safety at Chapelcross Power Station. 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 SSG meetings and will be happy to respond to any questions raised there or subsequently by members of the 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 Safety Directorate
Health and Safety Executive
Redgrave Court
Merton Road
Bootle
Merseyside
L20 7HS
The HMNII Site Inspector made the following visits during the period:
Routine inspections continued throughout the period to check compliance with the conditions attached to the Nuclear Site Licence.
The management and recording of events that occurred on the station during the period were inspected. Most of the events were relatively minor.
During the winter there were two periods when asbestos falls from the heat exchangers impacted on operations on the site, the first in mid December and the second in mid January. As a result HSE arranged two inspections related to the asbestos falls. The first was a joint inspection with NII and specialist asbestos inspectors from HSE’s Construction Division. The second was a team inspection to look at whether the restrictions on access during the falls in January had any safety implications.
The following routine meetings were attended:
Modification work continued on the upgrading of the fuel route discharge machines and associated plant, and our assessment work on related matters continued. Inactive commissioning of the systems continued, along with training of staff. Delays to the project led to a reduction in direct NII involvement and hence no project specific inspections were performed during the quarter.
Every 10 years MEL is required to undertake a comprehensive review of safety known as the Periodic Safety Review. MEL submitted to NII the scope and programme for its next Periodic Safety Review for the Chapelcross site, which has an NII decision date of 31 March 2009.
MEL submitted its annual update of its Environmental Management Plan to NII.
The Inspectorate has powers under the Nuclear Site Licence to issue regulatory documents collectively termed Licence Instruments. These Licence Instruments are issued under the licence conditions and arrangements and include Consents, Approvals, Directions, Specifications, Notifications and Agreements. No Licence Instruments were issued during the 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 quarter.