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 GE Healthcare Ltd Grove Centre Local Liaison Committee (LLC) and covers activities associated with the regulation of safety at the site. These reports are distributed quarterly and are available also from the Internet at http://www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear/index.htm. Site Inspectors of HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (part of the Health and Safety Executive’s Nuclear Directorate) attend LLC meetings and will be happy to respond to any questions raised there by members. Any other person wishing to inquire about matters covered by this report should contact the HSE’s, Nuclear Directorate on 0151-951-3484/3290.
Nuclear Directorate
Health and Safety Executive
Redgrave Court
Merton Road
Bootle
Merseyside
L20 7HS
NII inspections were made on 18 October and 30 October–2 November. (Inspections are also made at GE Healthcare Ltd’s nuclear licensed sites at Cardiff (the Maynard Centre) and Harwell. Where these are relevant to the Grove Centre they are included below. For instance, the sites have many arrangements in common for compliance with the conditions attached to their site licences.)
Inspections are undertaken for the purpose of monitoring compliance with (i) the conditions attached by HSE to the nuclear site licences, and (ii) other relevant provisions of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, including the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999. In this period routine inspections included:
I ssues arising from these and previous inspections are being pursued.
New Fire Safety Regulations : The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order has replaced the fire-certification regime for the control of general fire precautions at nuclear licensed sites. HM Fire Surveyors visited the Grove Centre, where they met representatives of all of GE Healthcare Ltd’s licensed sites, to explain the new legislation and how HSE intends to enforce it.
Incident: The licensee reported to NII in November that a small amount of low-active liquid effluent had leaked from primary containment into a production plant. In investigating the cause the licensee had released a further small amount, into a trench outside the plant, thus revealing that the secondary containment installed to prevent this was inadequate. Though the radiological consequence was insignificant, the site inspector will follow up the incident at his next visit, to decide whether the incident suggests inadequacies in other systems intended to ensure safety on the site, such as inspection and maintenance.
Local Liaison Committee: The site inspector attended the 6-monthly meeting of the Local Liaison Committee .
As part of its regulation under the nuclear site licence NII issues formal regulatory documents, which include Consents, Approvals, Directions, and Licence Instruments. No such documents were issued in this quarter. An agreement was reached with the licensee on how a plant to produce a radionuclide new to the site would be regulated. This has allowed construction and installation of the plant to begin.
No other issues have arisen that have required formal regulatory action.