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 also available on the HSE’s website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear/llc/index.htm . Site inspectors of HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate usually attend LSG meetings and will respond to questions raised there by members of the LSG. Any other person wishing to enquire about matters covered by this report may contact the HSE’s Nuclear Directorate on 0151-951-3484/3290.
Inspectors from NII visited the site on the following dates:
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.
With regard to the licensee’s compliance with licence condition 36, (for the control of organisational change) the licensee has made significant progress in this quarter towards adequately justifying the ongoing site organisational changes, in safety documentation assessed by NII. This included the need to retain adequate “core competence” and “intelligent customer” capabilities, in connection with the emerging proposals for the significant reduction in the size of the site workforce, which the licensee is proposing. These proposed changes will follow the completion of the site decommissioning and waste disposal projects.
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 currently proposing to store these materials at Capenhurst for an increased length of time, to permit contractual and processing capacity issues to be addressed with regard to the subsequent processing at another licensed site. It is understood that the duration of interim storage may be up to 6 years. The site inspector continues to press the licensee to both minimise the time for interim storage and to develop the interim storage safety case, in order to provide an improved demonstration of the safety of storage of these materials.
Two minor spillages of radioactive materials, arising during site decommissioning operations, were promptly notified to NII during this quarter, in compliance with the site licence condition 7 arrangements. The site inspector followed up these events with the licensee, the minor spillages being promptly retrieved and the licensee commissioning appropriate investigations into the causes of these minor events; the licensee’s formal investigation reports are still awaited from the licensee.
In January, the site inspector, accompanied by a safety representative, conducted a plant inspection, during the active commissioning of a new facility, being used to empty and wash out some legacy uranium hexafluoride cylinders, with an acceptable outcome. This plant is a key facility for reducing the chemo toxic hazard on the site.
The site inspector participated in a “BPEO Decision Workshop” in January, led by the licensee and the Environment Agency, advising on options for the remediation of minor non-radiological ground contamination and minor radiological contamination of concrete floor slabs, with an acceptable outcome.
In February, an NII specialist radioactive waste management assessment inspector accompanied the site inspector and a safety representative in an inspection of radioactive waste and uranic residue storage facilities on the site, with an acceptable outcome. Regulatory advice was then given, at a meeting with the licensee, regarding the expectations (of both NII and the Environment Agency) on what the licensee’s “Integrated Waste Strategy” should address, the licensee agreeing to incorporate this advice in the next annual revision of the “Integrated Waste Strategy”.
In March, the licensee’s proposals for disposing of combustible waste, in the light of the “mothballing” of the site incinerator, were reviewed, with an acceptable outcome.
Capenhurst ‘Lifetime Plan’.
The site inspector continues to participate in the regulatory review meeting, held in this quarter in March, involving NII, the Environment Agency, the licensee and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, reviewing the licensee’s decommissioning progress against the Lifetime Plan.
NII continues to actively press the licensee to develop the options to bring forward the date for the commencement of processing or disposition of the legacy “Hex Tails”, uranic and other materials currently stored on site, taking account of wider developments. The licensee continues to provide the site inspector with visibility of the ongoing work to review acceleration options. NII was encouraged that the licensee was actively engaged in reviewing the options to address the “Hex Tails” legacy, with a view to reducing the potential hazard, earlier than currently programmed in the 2007 Lifetime Plan. NII will continue to press for tangible progress to be made by the licensee in the timely reduction of this medium term site hazard.
The site inspector continues to press for the timely disposal of solid low level and very low level radioactive wastes from the site by the licensee and for the timely despatch of uranic residues to another licensed site for processing and recycling.
Very low level solid waste disposals were reinstated in July 2007, continuing to reduce the inventory of radioactive materials on the site, but no low level solid waste disposals have been made since March 2007. The latter was partly due to the need to gain approval for a modified transport package by the Department for Transport, this approval being received by the licensee in January 2008. The licensee proposes to reinstate low level solid waste disposals from the site to the Low Level Waste Repository by around the middle of 2008. Plans are awaited from the licensee for the timing of the despatch of the uranic residues.
There continue to be effective working relationships between the regulators, the licensee and the NDA at the Sellafield Limited Capenhurst site, which serve the interests of each party.
Meetings with Safety Representatives.
The site inspector continues to consult with the active site safety representatives during site inspections.
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 Sellafield Limited - Capenhurst Works for complying with those conditions.
No Licence Instruments were issued in this period.