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 Dounreay Site Stakeholder Group (DSSG) and covers activities associated with the regulation of safety at Dounreay. 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 normally attend the Dounreay SSG meetings and will be happy to respond to questions raised there or subsequently by members of the Dounreay SSG. 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
NII Site Inspectors and Specialist Inspectors visited Dounreay on the following dates:-
Compliance inspections were undertaken against a number of the Licence Conditions. NII asked for demonstration that only suitably qualified and experienced persons were allowed to perform safety related maintenance activities and raised the issue of compliance with maintenance schedules. In response to NII concerns over the scope of plant maintenance instructions and acceptance criteria for equipment tests, UKAEA is reviewing maintenance instructions for plant which may affect safety, taking account of HSE’s findings following the leak of dissolver liquor at THORP.
NII participated in the Dounreay Site End States Decision Conference held in Thurso on 15th February 2007. NII has not expressed a preference for any of the options being discussed.
NII has requested that UKAEA review its arrangements for compliance with Licence Condition 15 Periodic Review to ensure that safety cases are produced in a timely manner.
NII raised issues on the PFR and DFR safety cases, in particular the fact that UKAEA now has to extend the validity of these safety cases. NII has requested that the justification for extending these safety cases be considered by the Dounreay Nuclear Safety Committee(NSC). In addition the NSC should consider, amongst other things,
The recovery operation at DCP is progressing and the decontamination work is being performed in a controlled manner. Installation of replacement equipment, removal of temporary shielding and reinstatement of control, instrumentation and electrical equipment and refresher training of personnel may take several months after decontamination has been completed. NII will be conducting further inspection visits before the resumption of normal operations.
Following a leak of decant water in April 2006, an inspection by NII has now confirmed that UKAEA has replaced the carbon steel flanged piping with stainless steel welded pipe and the essential flanged connections have been enclosed in a Perspex box fitted with a drain and leak detection. The integrity of the bund, which failed to contain the leakage, has been re-established.
UKAEA has made significant improvements to a building storing radioactive oils and solvents following concerns raised by NII. The material will be transferred to more robust Intermediate Bulk Containers.
Following the NII investigation into a plutonium intake at Dounreay, two Improvement Notices were served on UKAEA for failing to comply with Licence Condition 4, Restrictions on Nuclear Matter on The Site and Licence Condition 25 Operational Records. NII also submitted a report to the Procurator Fiscal on this matter.
In March 2007 NII was informed of another potential plutonium intake by a UKAEA employee. NII is closely monitoring the UKAEA investigation into this intake.
In March 2007, NII was informed of a loss of electricity supplies to the Fuel Cycle Area as a result of a failure of an 11kV cable joint. UKAEA has performed an investigation into the event. NII specialist inspectors will review the outcome of the UKAEA investigation.
NII held discussions with NDA and UKAEA on the proposals for the 2007/08 Lifetime Plan. UKAEA has indicated that it was proposing changes to some of the regulatory milestones and would forward these to NII through the approved Licence Condition 35 arrangements.
[back to top]The Inspectorate has powers under the licence to issue Consents, Approvals and Directions. In addition, the Inspectorate uses Licence Instruments to issue Specifications, Acknowledgements, and Agreements under either the conditions attached to the Licence, or arrangements made by UKAEA for complying with those conditions. No Licence Instruments have been issued during the 1st quarter of 2007.