Ageing facilities at nuclear sites in West Berkshire inspected

Nuclear industry inspectors say they have now completed a year-long inspection into the ageing facilities at AWE in Aldermaston and Burghfield.

They are among five nuclear sites which have been subjected to a ‘themed’ inspection carried out by The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) during the last 12 months.

It has been looking at how the industry manages ageing plants and facilities to ensure the necessary standards of safety and security are maintained.

The final inspection report is now being compiled, and is expected to identify where improvements are required.

In late 2020, ONR selected five licensees for inspection, as a representative sample of the industry.

They are the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE Plc), in Aldermaston and Burghfield, Berkshire, EDF Energy Nuclear Generation Limited, at Sizewell B Power Station in Suffolk, Devonport Royal Dockyard Ltd (DRDL) in Plymouth, Magnox Limited, at Hinkley Point A in Somerset, and Sellafield Ltd, in Cumbria.

Initially, licensees were asked to carry out self-assessments, at the end of last year, and ONR's own inspections began in June, this year. There have been up to four inspections at some of the sites, depending on their size and number of facilities.

The four elements that were the focus of the self-assessment were followed-up during the site inspections – strategy, organisational capability, obsolescence and ongoing investment.

The chief nuclear inspector's themed inspections were introduced in 2017 and are designed to examine regulatory matters that are strategic or broader in nature than ONR's more routine regulatory inspection activities.

Mark Foy, ONR's chief nuclear inspector, said: "The regulatory work that we have undertaken has highlighted and reinforced the continued importance of ensuring that adequate programmes for the management of ageing facilities are in place across the nuclear industry. This particular themed inspection will be crucial to pinpoint good practice and inform future regulatory priorities.

"It is evident from the intelligence gathered by my inspectors, that ageing management is a focus for dutyholders across the nuclear sector but areas for improvement remain.

"The ageing of facilities is entirely expected, and it is necessary to address such issues in a timely manner, taking corrective actions to maintain strong safety and security performance.

"It is for this very reason that we chose this topic as one of our top priorities during the past year and shows ONR is committed to ensuring the highest standards of safety and security are adhered to within the nuclear industry."

In November, the chief nuclear inspector dealt a blow to AWE Aldermaston by predicting that the site will remain under enhanced regulatory attention until at least 2022.

Both Aldermaston and AWE Burghfield are regulated by the Office for Nuclear Regulation and have been under enhanced regulatory attention for about seven years.

In our article (November 18, 2021) about the Office for Nuclear Responsibility saying there are still significant areas of challenge at the Aldermaston AWE site, we included a paragraph which West Berkshire Council and AWE consider is misleading.

We would like to clarify that in the event of a radiation leak at the site, potassium iodide tablets are not part of the emergency response protocol published by AWE and West Berkshire Council.

The booklet on what to do in such an incident can be found here: WBC_REPPIR_booklet_A5_Web_20.pdf (westberks.gov.uk)