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 Urenco UK Limited Local Liaison Committee (LLC) and covers activities associated with the regulation of safety at the Urenco UK Limited nuclear licensed site. These reports are distributed quarterly. Site Inspectors of HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate normally attend LLC meetings and will be happy to respond to questions raised there or subsequently by members of the LLC. Any other person wishing to inquire about matters covered by this report should contact the HSE Nuclear Directorate Information Centre on 0151 951 4103.
The site was visited by NII inspectors on:-
Each NII site inspector has an inspection programme, informed by planned regulatory interventions. There are five key regulatory interventions for this site.
The first is to permission the licensee's commercial activities, whilst ensuring continued site licence compliance. The second is to ensure that the structure and resources available to the licensee remain adequate to ensure nuclear site licence compliance, during the ongoing reductions in the number of the licensee's employees. The third relates to the permissioning of the arrangements for the safe storage and timely 'deconversion' of the uranium hexafluoride "Hex Tails" into the more stable, less hazardous oxide form of uranium, at the proposed Tails Management Facility. The fourth intervention addresses "Hex Tails" management on the site, as the site stocks are increased, (although limited overall by agreement with NII). The fifth relates to the proposed request from the licensee for the relicensing of the site, to incorporate eight areas currently leased on the adjoining Sellafield Limited site.
In June 2008, the licensee's Managing Director announced the intention to significantly reduce the size of the licensee's workforce at the site, aiming for a reduction of up to 19%, to be implemented by the end of 2010. The implementation of the related licence condition 36 management of organisational change arrangements has therefore continued to receive commensurate regulatory assessment, as the licensee's workforce reduction proposals were clarified and were beginning to be implemented, during 2009.
Throughout this quarter, an NII specialist organisational change assessment inspector has continued to conduct sampling assessments of the licensee's developing organisational change safety documentation, together with assessing some aspects of the implementation of the licensee's underpinning organisational change arrangements. Considerable regulatory advice has also been provided to the licensee in preparation for relicensing. This assessment has largely been undertaken by NII reviewing the licensee's organisational change safety justifications, together with discussions on site with the Managing Director, managers, supervisors and plant operators, together with consultation discussions at separate meetings with the licensee's safety representatives. NII has provided extensive regulatory advice to the licensee, rehearsing the expectations of NII, in order to ensure that the licensee appropriately considers all key safety aspects of the proposed organisational changes, which are subject to permissioning by NII. Progress has been made in the past quarter, NII permissioning five of the licensee's proposed organisational changes, although further work will need to be undertaken by the licensee, in order to develop adequate safety justifications, for further proposed organisational changes.
The NII assessment had identified the need for the licensee to develop a timely overarching management of change safety justification, in addition to the separate lower tier departmental justifications, together with an up to date organisational "baseline" document, prior to implementing significant staff reductions. This was to ensure that the implementation of the licensee's proposed staff reductions would still maintain adequate organisational resources and the full range of experience and competencies required of a nuclear licensee.
Following site meetings with the Managing Director in late 2008, the site inspector wrote to the licensee, requiring NII visibility of the management of change safety justifications and requiring the licensee to gain the concurrence of NII, prior to the implementation of any further organisational changes. This is to allow NII to gain an appropriate degree of regulatory confidence in the licensee's implementation of the licence condition 36 organisational change arrangements. The licensee has complied with this request, providing NII with visibility of the lower safety category management of change safety justifications, although the licensee has sought to implement a number of these minor changes prior to the concurrence of NII being agreed.
Both Capenhurst licensees intend making relicensing applications to NII, although this has been postponed by the licensees until the end of November 2009, with a view to the issue of new site licences to both Capenhurst licensees around May 2010. NII has explained to the licensee that the relicensing process will take around six months, given the complexities of relicensing two licensees and the need to also establish the provenance of a separate company, Urenco ChemPlants Limited. Urenco ChemPlants Limited is likely to become a tenant company on the licensed site and hence will require NII consent to a lease for the land, on which the proposed Tails Management Facility is to be constructed by this separate company. NII had confirmed the advice to the licensee in writing regarding the timescales for the relicensing process, the licensee having unrealistically planned for the relicensing to be completed within three months. The primary purpose of the two new site licences will be to reconfigure the boundary between the two licensed sites, enabling Urenco UK Limited to incorporate eight areas of leased land on to the Urenco UK Limited licensed site. Extensive regulatory advice on leasing and relicensing matters, explaining the regulatory requirements, (including in relation to the proposed Tails Management Facility), has continued to be provided by the site inspector and NII specialist staff, at meetings held at site and at Bootle.
A team of five NII inspectors observed the licensee's 'Level One' emergency exercise "Guelder" on 24th September, demonstrating the licensee's 'on site' emergency arrangements. Whilst some aspects of the arrangements were deemed to have been satisfactorily demonstrated to NII, notably command and control at the Emergency Control Centre and Emergency Head Quarters, together with timely mustering of the entire Capenhurst site, a number of aspects of the emergency arrangements were readily recognised by the licensee as not being adequately demonstrated on this occasion. NII agreed with the licensee's proposal to redemonstrate aspects of casualty handling, the operation of the forward control point and radiological and chemical contamination control, at a repeat emergency exercise, to be arranged prior to the end of January 2010. The repeat exercise would be observed by NII, after the licensee had undertaken further training, involving the licensee working with the Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service and North West Ambulance Service, whose participation in exercise "Guelder" had added value to the exercise.
The site inspector also participated in the Capenhurst Emergency Planning Co-ordination committee on 16th September, to discuss off-site emergency planning.
The NII assessment of the licensee's implementation of the safety case production process is now being addressed by means of a team of NII specialist assessment inspectors undertaking technical assessment of aspects of the suite of six Tails Management Facility 'pre commencement' safety cases. This assessment is now underway and the licensee has been providing timely responses to technical queries arising from the preliminary NII assessment. Meetings have been held at site to discuss this NII assessment.
The annual meeting, at which NII and the Environment Agency jointly reviewed the safety and environmental performance of the licensee, was held at site on 16th July. An inspection was then made of the latest enrichment facility. Viewed overall, the licensee reported an adequate safety and environmental performance over the preceding calendar year. Constructive discussions were held regarding the licensee's commercial aspirations for this rapidly developing site and the associated regulatory inspection, assessment and permissioning requirements.
Discussions have continued with the licensee regarding the commissioning of additional raft storage areas for uranium hexafluoride cylinders on the site. NII had accepted the licensee's proposal to commission the storage raft with a limited number of uranium hexafluoride cylinders, in stages, after each of which the radiological impact would be reassessed by the licensee and reported to NII, before further uranium hexafluoride cylinders were placed on to the new storage raft. In June, during a site inspection, two NII specialist health physics inspectors discussed the recently received safety justification from the licensee. This has enabled NII to subsequently conclude that the licensee has made an adequate safety case, enabling NII to permission the operation of the additional raft storage areas in early July.
An NII specialist radioactive waste management assessment inspector, accompanied by the Environment Agency, visited site on 12th August, in order to provide regulatory advice to the licensee, as the licensee was commissioning the production of an Integrated Waste Strategy, to address all aspects of radioactive waste management by the licensee. The inspector also visited an enrichment facility and commented on shortfalls in the implementation of personnel contamination control measures. The site inspector wrote to the licensee on 14th August requesting the licensee to reinforce personnel contamination control measures for the workforce and visitors.
NII wrote in August to the licensee to clarify regulatory expectations regarding the control of the criticality contour for any new plants to be constructed at Capenhurst. A meeting was held at site in September, involving two NII specialist health physics assessment inspectors, in order to discuss this matter with the licensee.
A plant is proposed to be constructed on the licensed site, to 'deconvert' the uranium hexafluoride "Hex Tails" to the more stable, less hazardous oxide form of uranium, for longer term storage. Whilst current storage arrangements remain adequately safe, NII had expressed support to the local planning authority and to other government departments, for the timely construction and operation of the Tails Management Facility, (as this should lead to a significant medium term reduction of the hazard associated with the storage of uranium hexafluoride on the licensed site). HSE-HID is separately currently assessing the licensee's application for the necessary hazardous substances consent, on behalf of the local planning authority, as well as discussing the necessary COMAH safety report. Constructive meetings have been held with both the licensee and with Urenco ChemPlants Limited, (who are proposing to construct and operate the TMF facility on the Urenco UK Limited licensed site) and the relevant regulatory staff, to provide regulatory advice. Regulatory advice has been provided to the licensee, to ensure that adequate control and supervision of all safety aspects of the TMF project, including the forthcoming construction work, is adequately addressed by the licensee's organisation.
Perimeter radiation levels are periodically measured by both the licensee and independently by the Health Protection Agency. In late 2008 and subsequently confirmed in early 2009, some unexpectedly enhanced levels of radiation were measured, at the boundary of the Urenco UK Limited licensed site, at levels still well below any regulatory limits, but nevertheless warranting further investigation, to be informed by planned further independent measurements to be taken by the Health Protection Agency. This has initiated ongoing assessment by the licensee, which is still continuing to be reviewed by an NII specialist health physics assessment inspector. Further discussions are proposed between NII and both Capenhurst licensees
The site inspector continues to consult with the licensee's active safety representatives, most recently participating in a meeting with the safety representatives, on 16th September, at which the key current regulatory issue, in relation to NII assessment of the licensee's implementation of organisational change arrangements, was explained to the safety representatives by the site inspector.
No issues arose from the compliance inspections undertaken during this period that required formal regulatory action, beyond the letters sent to the licensee.
None.
No regulatory enforcement action was necessary in this quarter.
Government has decided to restructure HSE's Nuclear Directorate (ND) to improve further its organisational framework for the sustained delivery of robust, effective and efficient nuclear regulation in the UK. This will place the ND in a better position to meet the anticipated future challenges.
Several factors have come together to make now the right time to restructure ND and create a new independent Nuclear Statutory Corporation (NSC) under the auspices of HSE. These include changing requirements of ageing nuclear power reactors; on-going decommissioning and active management of legacy nuclear plants; assessment of potential new nuclear power stations; growing competitiveness in the global nuclear skills market and the need for improved regulation driven by increased expectation from society for better accountability, transparency and efficiency from public sector bodies.
In addition to this was the government-initiated exercise conducted by Dr Tim Stone which examined the UK's nuclear safety regulatory regime and identified a number of recommendations for improvement, including the need for structural changes to ND. The Summary Recommendations and the Government's response were published at the end of January 2009 (available on HSE's website).
HSE is working on the legislative measure that needs to be in place to create the NSC. These changes will be made through a Legislative Reform Order (LRO) under the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006.
Informing this, a joint consultation exercise was carried out by DECC and DWP that sought views on the proposed changes. The 12-week consultation period ended on 22 September 2009 and submissions are currently being assessed.
These new arrangements will not change the substance or standards of regulation or compromise the independence of the nuclear regulatory body, and will not affect the decisions it takes or the international obligations the Government requires it to meet.
These reforms are designed to lead to improvements in the transparency, accountability and consistency of regulatory activities, thereby seeking to enhance the confidence of all stakeholders, both duty holders and those with wider interests. The reforms would be expected to offer clear and direct benefits to industry and workers as well as society as a whole, which would benefit from efficient and continued robust and effective regulation of nuclear hazards.
Subject to the outcome of the consultation and Parliamentary approval, and if the Parliamentary timetable permits, the aim is to bring the new body into being during 2010.
An internal change programme is currently operating within ND to ensure that the ND is ready to operate when permitted by Parliamentary approval as a statutory corporation from spring 2010. This programme has identified key areas of action and deliverables, which will sit alongside the current business improvement programme and will ensure that operational business improvements are delivered alongside the set up of the new corporation.
It is important to recognise that this programme does not in anyway compromise the current business activity that is delivered through ND and strives to improve operational effectiveness and stakeholder engagement.
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 Urenco UK Limited for complying with those conditions. No Licence Instruments were issued during this quarter.