Oldbury Nuclear Power Station report - Q2 2009

Oldbury Site Stakeholder Group Quarterly Report for 1 April to 30 June 2009

Inspections
Routine matters
Non-routine matters
Regulatory activities

Foreword

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 Oldbury Site Stakeholder Group and covers activities associated with the regulation of safety at Oldbury Nuclear Power Station. These reports are distributed quarterly and are also available on the HSE's web site at http://www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear/llc/index.htm. Site Inspectors of HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate usually attend Site Stakeholder Group meetings and will respond to any questions raised there by the members of the group.

Inspections

The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate Site Inspector made inspections on the following dates during the quarter:

2nd April 2009
15th to 16th April 2009
7th May 2009
12th May 2009
10th June 2009
23rd to 24th June 2009

Specialist inspectors carried out inspections on the following dates during the quarter:

2nd April 2009
15th to 16th April 2009
7th May 2009
26th May 2009
4th June 2009
23rd to 24th June 2009

Routine matters

Inspections at site

Inspections at Oldbury are undertaken at site as part of the process for monitoring compliance with:

the conditions attached by HSE/NII to the nuclear site licence;
the Health and Safety at Work etc Act (HSWA) 1974 and
regulations made under the HSWA (for example the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999).

This entails monitoring licensee's actions on the site in relation to incidents, operations, maintenance, projects, modifications, safety case changes and any other matters which may affect safety. The licensees/operators are required to make and implement adequate arrangements under the conditions attached to the licence in order to ensure legal compliance. Inspections seek to judge both the adequacy of these arrangements and their implementation. In this period routine inspections of (site/station) covered:

Examination, Inspection, Maintenance and Testing
Modifications to plant, equipment and safety cases
Control of organisational change
Periodic shutdown
Commissioning
Incidents on the site
Emergency arrangements
Conventional safety
Meeting safety representatives

In general the arrangements made and implemented by the site in response to safety requirements were deemed to be adequate in the areas inspected. However, where improvements were considered necessary, satisfactory commitments to address the issues were made by the licensee, and the site inspector will monitor progress during future visits. Where necessary, formal regulatory enforcement action will be taken to ensure that appropriate remedial measures are implemented to reasonably practicable timescales.

Graphite core safety case

Assessment of graphite safety case has been completed. NII is content with operation of Reactors 1 and 2 in accordance with the core irradiation limits justified in the graphite safety case.

Reactor 1

Reactor 1 returned to service with turbine number 1, on 7 March 2009. The reactor is currently back at power with an operating limit on the turbine. It is due to shutdown for its statutory outage in September 2009, during which the licensee proposes to include a full maintenance programme on turbine 1. During the next statutory outage Oldbury will carry out further TV inspections of fuel channels, take further graphite samples, and carry out further measurements of fuel channel geometries.

Reactor 2

Reactor 2 returned to service on 15 May 2009. It is currently generating at full load. During the outage Oldbury carried out further TV inspections of fuel channels, took further graphite samples, and carried out further measurements of fuel channel geometries. The information provided was assessed by the NII's graphite specialist assessor and he was content with the reactor returning to service. Further, ongoing analysis of additional samples will be considered by the NII.

Reactor 2 commissioning test

During a commissioning test prior to return to service of Reactor 2, an incident occurred when a circuit breaker coil overheated. The incident was investigated by the licensee and the NII, and it was established that the incident was not maintenance related. It was caused due to an original manufacturing defect, which resulted in a mounting bracket for a cut off switch being slightly misaligned.

Fuel integrity monitoring system (FIMS)

FIMS was installed on Reactors 1 and 2. The systems are currently being tested, and an operational instruction will be issued following an adequate period of soak testing, to allow operators to take appropriate actions on receiving FIMS alarms.

Emptying of sludge tank 2

The licensee is progressing with its plans for emptying of sludge tank 2. It proposes mixing the sludge with cement in special containers, and sending it to the Low Level Waste Repository for storage.

Level 1 emergency exercise demonstration to the NII

An emergency exercise took place on 24 June 2009, and was observed by a team of NII inspectors. The purpose of the exercise was to demonstrate Oldbury's capability to contain and manage a Site Incident or/and an Off Site Nuclear Emergency. The exercise was ‘adequately' demonstrated, with a lot of good performances in a number of areas.

Annual review meeting

On 14 and 15 April 2009, NII's Superintending Inspector and Oldbury's site inspector, visited Oldbury to inspect the Minimum Safety Related Plant and hold an annual safety review meeting. It was acknowledged that the site had good safety management systems in place, and that the plant was well maintained. A few recommendations were made as a result of the inspection, on how to further improve the annual safety reporting / meeting.

Conventional safety

In February 2009, HSE's Field Operations Directorate (FOD) became responsible for conventional safety at Nuclear Power Stations. A joint inspection of conventional safety was carried out with FOD operations division. No issues of concern were noted.

Non-routine matters

Licensees are required to have arrangements to respond to non-routine matters and events. NII inspectors judge the adequacy of the licensee's/operators response, including actions taken to implement any necessary improvements. Matters of particular note considered during the current period include the following;

Proposed changes to the Status of HSE's Nuclear Directorate

The Government has put forward proposals to change the status of HSE's Nuclear Directorate (ND) to that of a Statutory Corporation under the auspices of the HSE. This is intended to enable ND, as the independent nuclear regulator of safety and security, to better meet the challenges of a changing nuclear industry over the coming years. The changes are to provide the nuclear regulator with greater flexibility and increase the accountability, transparency and openness of nuclear regulation. The Government are proposing that the statutory changes needed to bring this about will be made by a Legislative Reform Order (LRO).

This builds on the outcome of the Government initiated review of the UK's nuclear regulatory regime, led by Dr Tim Stone. The Summary Recommendations and the Government's response were published at the end of January 2009.

A public consultation, run by DWP and DECC, on the LRO was launched on June 30th for a 12 week period, which gives the opportunity for stakeholders to comment on the proposals.

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.

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 as a statutory corporation from spring 2010.

This programme does not in anyway compromise the current regulatory activities of ND.

Regulatory activity

Under Health and Safety legislation NII Site Inspectors, and other HSE Inspectors, may issue formal documents to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. Under nuclear site licence conditions, HSE/NII issues regulatory documents, which either permit an activity or require some form of action to be taken; these are collectively termed Licence Instruments (LI). In addition inspectors may issue enforcement notices to secure improvements to safety.

Licence Instruments

Licence Instrument No. 531, ‘Consent' to the start up of Oldbury Reactor number 2 was issued during this quarter.

Licence Instrument No. 532, ‘Acknowledgement' of review of battery room ventilation arrangements and paper of principle for modifications was issued during this quarter.