HSE PUBLISHES SELLAFIELD 'ONE YEAR ON' REPORT

22 Feb 2001 12:00 AM

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) today published a report on progress by British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL) in responding to three HSE reports on Sellafield, published in February 2000.

Today''s report, by HSE''s Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII), describes how inspectors have tested BNFL''s responses and measures for improvement at Sellafield. It also gives an update on clearance of the 65 recommendations contained in the reports, which covered MOX fuel data falsification; control and supervision of operations; and liquid waste storage.

Laurence Williams, HM Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations, said today: ''Overall, we are encouraged by the vigour and commitment that BNFL has given to addressing the issues raised by all three reports. This has been a highly challenging year for BNFL and our inspectors. A considerable amount of work has been undertaken but more remains to be done.''

All 15 recommendations in the MOX data falsification report have been satisfactorily addressed and NII inspectors have ''closed out'' all of them. NII will regulate restart of the MOX Demonstration Facility in the same way as other Sellafield plants and BNFL has been required to submit a re-commissioning safety report.

''BNFL has also taken significant action in response to the report on HSE''s inspection of control and supervision.'' The BNFL Board has been restructured and the Sellafield management reorganised to provide a single individual who is responsible for operations and safety at the site. Greater clarity of roles and responsibilities have been identified and staffing at Sellafield has increased.

There has been good progress against most of the 28 team inspection report recommendations, three having been formally ''closed out.'' Experience has shown formal closeout will take longer than previously envisaged, due to the time required for changes to be implemented and for evidence of this to be provided. This will affect the timescale for final ''closeout.'' Hence, NII has asked BNFL to review its plans for all of the outstanding recommendations.

''The High Level Waste report recommendations required BNFL to develop a strategy for reducing stocks of ''high active liquid waste stored at Sellafield and improvements to the safety case for the plants holding this waste.'' All 22 recommendations have now been cleared following extensive discussions on BNFL''s submissions. BNFL has also provided an updated safety case, supported by a programme of operational and engineering improvements.''

NII has issued a Specification to enforce an agreed stock reduction strategy and NII will carry out a critical review of BNFL''s strategy every two years to look for further reductions. NII''s views will be reported, as part of normal regulatory activity, via the Sellafield Local Liaison Committee (LLC). Reports to LLCs are placed on HSE''s website.

Copies of the report, ''Progress on BNFL''s response to three reports issued by HSE on 18 February 2000'', are available free from Information Centre, Nuclear Safety Directorate, HSE, Room 004, St. Peter''s House, Balliol Road, Bootle, Merseyside L20 3LZ (Tel: 0151 951 4103/Fax: 0151 951 4004). The report is also available on HSE''s website at www.hse.gov.uk/nsd/bnflprog01.pdf

Notes to Editors

1. NII is the part of HSE responsible for regulating safety at Sellafield and all other nuclear licensed sites in the UK. BNFL holds a licence from HSE, granted under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (as amended), to operate Sellafield, and is subject to site licence conditions. The Sellafield site contains two types of nuclear installations. Four Magnox reactors provide steam and electricity for the site and supply electricity to the national grid. The rest of the site, comprising several hundred buildings, is associated with the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel and treatment and storage of radioactive wastes.

2. NII investigated and analysed in detail the issues surrounding falsification of MOX fuel quality assurance (QA) data, first reported by BNFL in September 1999. NII''s report concluded that: a systematic management failure allowed various individuals to falsify QA records for fuel pellet diameter measurements; it was not possible to establish a motive, but poor ergonomic design of the plant, tedium of the job and the ease with which the data logging system could be manipulated were seen to be contributory factors; and that, although data was falsified, this would have no effect on the safety of the fuel in a nuclear reactor. In December 2000, NII announced it had accepted BNFL''s responses to all 15 recommendations (see press notice E247:00 of 19 December 2000).

3. During the first half of 1999, NII detected an apparent increase in the number of incidents occurring at Sellafield. Investigation of some of these events showed that inadequacies in BNFL''s arrangements for the control and supervision of operations appeared to be a significant contributor to the poor safety performance. HM Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations ordered that a team inspection be carried out on the theme of control and supervision. The inspection was carried out in September 1999 at the facilities associated with reprocessing and waste treatment/storage. HSE required BNFL to produce a programme for responding to the report''s 28 recommendations within two months.

4. On 31 January 2001, NII issued BNFL with a Specification (a legal requirement to take action) to formalise BNFL''s programme for reducing liquid high level radioactive waste stocks at Sellafield to a buffer level of 200 cubic metres by 2015 (see press notice E015:01 of 31 January 2001).

5. In last February''s report on liquid high level waste storage, NII undertook to issue reports on progress with stock reduction options and safety case improvements. This will be done through an addendum to last year''s report, due to be published in Spring 2001, which will describe in more detail NII''s view of BNFL''s responses to the 22 recommendations in last year''s report.

6. The three reports referred to above are:-

''An investigation into the falsification of pellet diameter data in the MOX Demonstration Facility at the BNFL Sellafield site and the effect of this on the safety of MOX fuel in use'';

''HSE team inspection of the control and supervision of operations at BNFL''s Sellafield site'';

''The storage of liquid high level waste at BNFL Sellafield - an updated review of safety''.

Copies are available free from Nuclear Safety Directorate Information Centre, HSE, Room 004, St Peter''s House, Balliol Road, Bootle, Merseyside L20 3LZ (Tel: 0151 951 4103/Fax: 0151 951 4004/e-mail: nsd.infocentre@hse.gov.uk).

PUBLIC ENQUIRIES: Nuclear Safety Directorate Information Centre, HSE, St. Peter''s House, Balliol Road, Bootle L20 3LZ (Tel: 0151-951 4103/Fax: 0151-951 4004/e-mail: nsd.infocentre@hse.gsi.gov.uk).

PRESS ENQUIRIES: Journalists only: Mark Wheeler 020 7717 6915. Out of hours enquiries: 020 7928 8382.

HSE information and press releases can be accessed on the Internet at www.hse.gov.uk

Ends