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 Harwell Chilton Campus Local Stakeholder Group (LSG) and covers activities associated with the regulation of safety at the UKAEA Harwell licensed 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 normally attend LSG meetings and will be happy to respond to questions raised there by members of the LSG. Any other person wishing to inquire about matters covered by this report should contact the HSE’s Nuclear Directorate on 0151-951-4103.
The Site Inspector made five planned visits to Harwell during the quarter. His inspections and discussions covered a number of regulatory topics including the management of change, safety-related staff competences and the management of suitably qualified and experienced persons (SQEPs), emergency arrangements, the proposed UKAEA reorganisation, flask safety cases, maintenance arrangements, and the Life Time Plan for the site.
In March, the Site Inspector was joined by his Superintending Inspector and the Windscale Site Inspector for the NII/UKAEA Annual Review of Safety, which was also attended by representatives of the Environment Agency. He also attended two NDA (Nuclear Decommissioning Authority) reviews of the joint Winfrith and Harwell Life Time Plans for 2007/2008, which were also attended by the EA Site Regulator. He also met with the UKAEA Safety Representatives. Further information on matters of interest is provided in the following sections of this report.
As indicated in paragraph 1 above, these covered licence condition compliance matters and other relevant safety related aspects of operations, maintenance and both technical and safety support. For the most part, the inspections and discussions during the quarter revealed nothing of concern and compliance was judged to be adequate. In the case of a flask safety case and maintenance arrangements in the B462 complex, UKAEA agreed to remedy the position. The topics of management of change, SQEPs and competences continue to be discussed along with other associated matters within the context of the proposed reorganisation of UKAEA.
NII and the Environment Agency continued to meet with UKAEA on a routine basis by videoconference. The meetings help maintain close contact with the site whilst reducing travel time and costs. They are not seen as a substitute for site inspection visits but they allow routine regulatory business to proceed while the Site Inspector is away from the site.
NII’s Q4 2006 report referred to a UKAEA review of emergency arrangements. The review was being considered by UKAEA in the light of the reducing hazard on the site, which is being brought about by the continuing recovery and subsequent processing of stored legacy wastes. The review has now been discussed with the Site Inspector who has informed the company that the need for an appropriately trained, equipped and resourced Emergency Response Team will continue to be a requirement of Nuclear Site Licence Condition 11 into the future.
The company has been reminded that any changes that are eventually proposed for implementation will first have to be supported by a safety submission, which NII will assess to ensure that any proposed reorganisation or reduction of emergency preparedness will continue to meet the needs of the site. Any changes to the current approved emergency plan would themselves need to be formally approved by NII before they were implemented. Such changes in organisation would also need to be supported by a management of change proposal prepared under Nuclear Site Licence Condition 36 requirementsDiscussions continue both at corporate and site level on the structure that UKAEA has proposed for the clustered site comprising both Winfrith and Harwell which is to be know as Research Sites Restoration Limited (RSRL). NII continues to have concerns regarding the long term viability of the Site Licensee Company (SLC), which will form the most part of RSRL but which will be managed by whichever company eventually proves to be successful in NDA’s competition in 2009 for the management of the site. UKAEA is expecting to submit its Safety Management Prospectus and Management of Change proposals for RSRL in the near future, which will both be examined by NII.
NII has powers under Nuclear Site Licence Number 47 to issue Consents, Approvals and Directions. In addition, NII can issue Notifications, Specifications, Acknowledgements and Agreements under the conditions attached to the Licence, or under arrangements made by UKAEA for complying with those conditions.
A new numbering system was introduced on 1 October 2004 for site licence actions, and all such actions are now called Licence Instruments. One licence instrument was issued during quarter one:
Nuclear Safety Directorate
Health and Safety Executive
Redgrave Court
Merton Road
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