Rolls-Royce Marine Power Operations Limited, Raynesway, Derby (Manufacturing and Neptune/RCF Licensed Sites)

Quarterly Report for 1 January 2009 to 31 March 2009

Inspections
Routine matters
Non routine matters
Regulatory activity

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 Local Liaison Committee and covers activities associated with the regulation of safety at the Manufacturing and Neptune Licensed Sites, Raynesway, Derby. 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 Local Liaison Committee meetings and will respond to questions raised there by members of the Local Liaison Committee.

Inspections

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

26-28 January 2009
10-11 February 2009
24-26 March 2009

Other NII inspectors visited the site on:

26-28 January 2009
10-11 February 2009
25 March 2009

The NII Superintending Inspector visited the site on 25 March 2009

Changes to HSE's Nuclear Directorate

In early 2008 the Government initiated a review into the UK's nuclear safety regulatory regime, led by Dr Tim Stone. The recommendations and the UK's Government response were published at the end of January 2009. One of the major recommendations is the decision by Government to establish the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) Nuclear Directorate (ND) as a Statutory Corporation under the auspices of the HSE.

The creation of this new, autonomous body, (which will continue to incorporate the Office for Civil Nuclear Security and the UK Safeguards Office) will facilitate a more sustainable approach to regulating nuclear safety and security within a rapidly changing global nuclear environment and recruitment of high calibre of staff within a hardening market place for highly specialised skills.

The restructuring 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.

Enabling work continues for the initial scoping and planning of the work-streams and programmes necessary for the Statutory Corporation to come into being from April 2010. This project has required the temporary enhancement of ND's senior management capability in order to deliver existing regulatory work and to create the Statutory Corporation.

Routine matters

Inspections 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 inspections at the Manufacturing and Neptune Licensed Sites included:

Incidents on Site.
Examination, Maintenance, Inspection, Testing.
Site Boundary Inspection
Control and Supervision.
Training.
Duly Authorised and Other Suitably Qualified and Experienced Persons.
Construction or Installation of New Plant.
Control of Organisational Change.

In general the arrangements made and implemented by RRMPOL in response to safety requirements were deemed to be adequate in the areas inspected with the exception of the area discussed below. However, where improvements were considered necessary, satisfactory commitments to address the issues were made by or are being sought from 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.

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.

During this current period HSE completed the investigation into the radiological incident that occurred in the Chemical Plant on 15th June 2008 and resulted in one employee receiving a small contamination dose well below the statutory limits. HSE also monitored and reviewed the safety improvements being carried out by RRMPOL to address the Improvement Notice issued by HSE as a result of this incident.

HSE are now satisfied that the requirements of the Improvement Notice have now been met and have informed the site accordingly. The future progress of these safety improvements will continue to be monitored by the HSE/NII Site Inspector during normal regulatory activity.

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 permission an activity or requires 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.

No Licence Instruments were issued to the licensee during the quarter.