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 Dounreay Site Stakeholder Group (DSSG) and covers activities associated with the regulation of safety at Dounreay. 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 normally attend the Dounreay SSG meetings and will be happy to respond to questions raised there or subsequently by members of the Dounreay SSG. Any other person wishing to inquire about matters covered by this report should contact the HSE’s Nuclear Directorate on 0151-951-4382.
Nuclear Safety Directorate
Health and Safety Executive
Redgrave Court
Merton Road
Bootle
Merseyside
L20 7HS
NII Site Inspectors and Specialist Inspectors visited Dounreay on the following dates:-
Compliance inspections were undertaken against a number of the Licence Conditions. No major issues were raised.
The annual site emergency exercise was held on 2nd May. The exercise scenario was challenging involving simulated radioactive contaminated sodium/potassium metal fires in two adjacent buildings. NII considered the exercise to be an adequate demonstration of UKAEA’s emergency arrangements.
The Dounreay Regulatory Forum was held on 20th June at which UKAEA’s proposals for the 2008 Lifetime Plan were discussed. Changes to Regulatory Milestones in the decommissioning programme were explained and the majority were agreed under the arrangements for Licence Condition 35. Changes to a small number of decommissioning milestones have yet to be agreed by NII.
NII and UKAEA discussed changes to the Licence Condition 35 arrangements to allow Dounreay to move from referencing the regulatory milestones set down in the Dounreay Site Restoration Plan (DSRP) to the equivalent milestones in the Life Time Plan. UKAEA agreed to provide a set of draft arrangements by September 2007 that will be discussed at the November 2007 meeting of the Dounreay Regulatory Forum. It is intended that under the new arrangements, UKAEA will continue to be required to seek NII agreement to any significant changes to decommissioning milestones
NII held a bi-lateral meeting with SEPA at Dounreay to discuss matters of mutual interest. Both parties agreed on the merits of holding further meetings. NII and SEPA also agreed to arrange joint regulatory inspections at Dounreay
As a result of the concerns raised by NII early in 2007, the Dounreay Nuclear Safety Committee (DNSC) reviewed the UKAEA arrangements for the production of safety cases. Improved management arrangements have been introduced following this review and steps taken to ensure management oversight of the arrangements and that adequate resources are available for the timely production and peer review of safety cases
The recovery operation at DCP is progressing and the decontamination work is being performed in a controlled manner. UKAEA has revised the programme for recovery and start up.
UKAEA responded to the two Improvement Notices (against Licence Condition 4, Restrictions on Nuclear Matter on The Site and Licence Condition 25 Operational Records), served on them by NII in January 2007 following a plutonium intake in the Fuel Cycle Area. NII considered that the UKAEA response satisfied the requirements of these two Notices.
NII is monitoring the UKAEA investigation into a further plutonium intake identified earlier this year. The source of this intake is currently unknown.
NII and UKAEA continue to make progress in dealing with the 1998 HSE/SEPA Audit recommendations with about 80% of the 143 recommendations having been closed out.
NII and SEPA jointly investigated the discovery of radioactive contamination in a land drain and in a filter processing water from the Castle Gate Seep. The regulators confirmed that risks to workers and the environment were being adequately controlled during UKAEA’s investigation. Follow-up sampling by UKAEA did not find any further contamination on the inner surfaces of the manhole above the land drain. Analysis of the Castle Gate Seep filter material indicated that the original measurement may have been due to short-lived radon daughter products, which are commonly encountered at that location.
Natural uranium oxide fuel that had been irradiated at Winfrith has been transferred to Dounreay. NII considers that the receipt of this fuel was in breach of Dounreay Licence Instrument No. 47, issued on 12th December 1997. This Licence Instrument requires that UKAEA gain NII’s agreement prior to any receipts of irradiated fuel. In accordance with HSE’s Enforcement Management Model, NII wrote to UKAEA reinforcing the position that NII's formal agreement will be required before any irradiated nuclear fuel is transferred to the site.
Nuclear safety and fire safety inspectors examined the arrangements at Dounreay for storing thorium waste being returned from Peru. The inspectors were satisfied that the storage arrangements were adequate.
NII examined proposals for setting up the future nuclear site licence holder for Dounreay, Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL). The main issues raised by NII were in relation to arrangements for future control of operations at the Dounreay site and the organisational structure of the new company. NII will continue to be closely involved in inspecting the arrangements for the transition to the new company.
Separately, UKAEA presented details of its forward research programme and explained how Dounreay Site Restoration Limited will continue with this work after UKAEA restructuring
NII is examining the project to remove breeder elements from DFR. NII Inspectors visited the breeder removal equipment manufacturer’s facility in France to inspect the equipment that will be used to remove the elements and also to observe the equipment commissioning trials.
[back to top]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 UKAEA for complying with those conditions. No Licence Instruments have been issued during the 2nd quarter of 2007.