HSE reviews DRDL's decommissioning strategy for Devonport Nuclear licensed site

HSE Press Release: E072:04 - 26 May 2004

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published a report on its review of the decommissioning strategy for the Devonport Royal Dockyard Ltd (DRDL) nuclear licensed site. HSE's HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) undertook the review, in consultation with the Environment Agency.

The Devonport site comprises the Naval Base, managed by the Ministry of Defence, and the Devonport Royal Dockyard nuclear licensed site, owned and operated by DRDL. The review considers DRDL's strategy for decommissioning the nuclear licensed site in relation to regulatory guidance, the underlying assumptions made and whether the plans submitted are comprehensive and appropriate.

Key findings of the review include:

• Overall, HSE considers DRDL's strategy to be generally comprehensive and appropriate at this time for current liabilities. However, the scope of the strategy needs to be extended, before the next quinquennial review, to cover new facilities;
  
• The strategy, so far as it is defined, is sufficiently flexible to take account of changing circumstances;
  
• The DRDL general approach that facilities should be decommissioned as soon as they become redundant is consistent with HSE expectations. However, DRDL needs to provide further justification for certain aspects of its waste management strategy;
  
• HSE will progress issues from this review with the licensee as part of its routine regulatory work.

'Devonport Royal Dockyard Ltd's strategy for the decommissioning of the Devonport nuclear licensed site: A review by HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate' is available on HSE's web site at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear/devonportqqr.pdf

Notes to editors

1. DRDL is the Nuclear Site Licensee under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (as amended) for the Devonport Royal Dockyard nuclear site.

2. The review was undertaken in accordance with the 1995 White Paper: 'Review of Radioactive Waste Management Policy: Final Conclusions' (Cm 2919, Department of the Environment, HMSO, 1995, ISBN 0 11 08539 5). This stated that the Government would ask all nuclear operators to draw up strategies for the decommissioning of their redundant plant and that HSE would review these strategies on a quinquennial (five-yearly) basis, in conjunction with the environment agencies.

3. Similar reviews of other licensees' strategies have been (or are being) undertaken and reported on by HSE. These quinquennial review reports, together with other reports on the activities of nuclear licensees and background information on nuclear safety regulation can be found on HSE's web site at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear/index.htm

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