Performance Updates
Find out more about NDA Sites' Performance, visit our Programme Performance Updates section.
NDA Sites Monthly Performance Update
General Evaluation - Key Elements
- Work is being delivered for less than expected costs.
- The overall NDA programme is behind schedule.
- Year to date electricity generation is below target.
For financial year 2007/8 with the exception of Sellafield plans are not over pressured. Work is ongoing to assess the funding requirements for Sellafield.
Financial year 2007/8 efficiency targets have been set and the monitoring programme has started.
Year to Date Cost and Schedule Performance
At the end of November 2007, the programme delivered work for less than expected costs. Measured against the year to date budget the programme of work at the end of November is behind schedule.
Please note: We use Earned Value Performance Management to measure programme performance. This compares the budgeted cost of work that was scheduled with the budgeted cost of work that was actually performed to determine schedule performance and the budgeted cost of work actually performed with its actual cost to determine cost performance.
Year to date electricity generation at the fleet of Magnox nuclear reactors operated by the NDA was below target at the end of November 2007. Electricity generation for the month was above target.
Items of Interest
Key Elements
- At Calder Hall the Environment Agency has authorised disposal of the full range of listed wastes in the Calder Landfill Extension Segregation Area (CLESA).
- The Sellafield Sealine Pipebridge Project achieved a major project milestone during the period.
- Shadow working started during the period at all Magnox sites.
- At Chapelcross the cooling towers site restoration is now complete.
- Innovative waste handling technique introduced at Chapelcross.
- Recovery seen on the Intermediate level Waste (ILW) Store Construction Project at Trawsfynydd.
- At the Dounreay Cementation Plant (DCP) recovery of the cement residues under the Mixing Cell has been completed.
- Work continues towards the restart of sustained shearing at the Sellafield Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (THORP).
- At the Sellafield MOX Plant (SMP) operations continue to be behind scheduled performance.
- At Low Level Waste Repository (LLWR) the Vault 9 planning application consideration has been deferred another month to 22nd January 2008.
- At the Low Level Waste Repository (LLWR), Low Level Waste consignments are significantly reduced this financial year.
At Calder Hall the Environment Agency has authorised disposal of the full range of listed wastes in the Calder Landfill Extension Segregation Area (CLESA) lower 40,000m3 of the landfill. This represents the end of a long process of submissions and discussions.
The Sellafield Sealine Pipebridge Project achieved a major project milestone during the period by casting the new twin structural columns at Pier H. The project is working towards completing the transfer of load from the temporary props into the new columns at Pier A and Pier H. The project successfully completed the casting of the new structural slabs underneath the location of the new pipe supports to be installed on Sealine 3, which are located on the west abutment of the Sealine Pipebridge. This is a key enabler for the separation cut/demolition of Pier J (follows completion of load transfer on Pier H).
The regulator issued a License Instrument that approved the start of shadow working at all Magnox sites during the period. Completion of shadow working will allow the legal separation of Magnox South and Magnox North.
On the Cooling Tower Demolition project at Chapelcross the cooling tower site restoration has now been completed. During the project:
- Over 25,000 tonnes of concrete was processed.
- Over 2,400 tonnes of rebar was recycled.
- Over 23,000 m3 of plastic packing was removed.
- Over 300 tonnes of asbestos cement was removed.
- Over 700 tonnes of hazardous timber was removed.
All wastes have now been successfully removed, recycled or reduced and the project was completed with no accidents.
The waste processing team at Chapelcross are constantly evaluating and deploying new and innovative waste handling techniques either shared by other sites or developed in house. One such technique is a shrink wrapping process developed in the USA to encase large items of redundant internally contaminated plant such as fuel route flasks. Some of these items are currently stored in the Rubb Waste Processing Facility. The shrink wrapping process involves the use of a specialised film and a propane heat gun, which applies heat to the special UV resistive film and shrinks it onto the item. It allows the flasks which are sealed and clear of contamination externally to be stored awaiting processing. These items can be stored outside in a stable manner, thus freeing up space in the Rubb building for other Low Level Waste (LLW) operations.
At Trawsfynydd historic delays have been experienced on the Intermediate level Waste (ILW) Store Construction Project with the concrete pours to the walls and roof taking longer than expected earlier this year, which has had a knock-on effect on other activities. The programme has now nearly been recovered following the implementation of robust recovery plans. During the period, progress has continued towards commissioning of the store with testing of the internal cranes progressing well. The reglit glazing system has been completed, as have the access roads.
Work continues on the Dounreay Cementation Plant (DCP) recovery programme. Recovery of the cement residues under the Mixing Cell has been completed. Commissioning of flasking arrangements in DCP Import/export Facility (IEF) has commenced on schedule to get the shield pump back in place. Currently the project team is working on ensuring all paperwork for restart is in place and training issues are being identified.
At the Sellafield MOX Plant (SMP) operations continue to be behind scheduled performance. The additional focus throughout the plant has seen improvements in throughput and yield throughout the plant such that November has been the most successful period to date for this financial year. The focus has and will continue to be on sustainability of rates and work has started in the period in several key plant areas all targeted at this, including some engineering improvements in current bottleneck areas, led by an experienced Engineering Manager and the use of specialist manufacturing teams across the plant.
Work continues towards the restart of sustained shearing at the Sellafield Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (THORP). November saw the THORP Chemical Plants operating. The Uranium Finishing Plant was also operational during November. All the material produced in November was within specification. Shearing operations are currently planned to restart early in 2008.
Ongoing discussions regarding incorporation of the NDA community benefit package into the Low Level Waste Repository (LLWR) Vault 9 planning application has resulted in consideration of the planning application being deferred another month to 22nd January 2008. The LLWR is supporting the NDA and Cumbria County Council on a resolution to this. For accelerated construction of Vault 9 to be an effective risk mitigation strategy against a shortfall in storage capacity the earliest possible planning approval is required, otherwise alternative contingency measures will have to be invoked.
At the Low Level Waste Repository (LLWR), Low Level Waste consignments are significantly reduced this financial year. Consignors are not forecasting increases. This has an adverse impact on NDA income, but slightly reduces the risk of a short term shortfall in capacity with Vault 8 reaching capacity after December 2008. There appears to be two drivers for this reduction in receipts; firstly consignor project prioritisation to meet funding constraints reducing the volume of waste being generated, and secondly the contract incentives to improve the packing fraction resulting in more waste per container.
Safety and Environment Performance
Safety and Environment - Key Elements
- Two INES Level 1 events reported from Sellafield. Fi
- ve RIDDOR events reported from Sellafield and Harwell.
- Summons received by Sellafield Ltd regarding the fatality in B6 chimney in 2003.
- Successful assessments against ISO 9001, 14001 and OHSAS 18001 at a number of sites.
Dosimetry is the measurement of absorbed dose in matter and tissue resulting from the exposure to ionizing radiations.
Nuclear Safety
Two events rated at Level 1 or above on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES) have been reported as occurring at NDA sites during November.
- During operations in the Magnox Dismantling Waste Store at Sellafield, an anomaly was identified in the safety case regarding the flask maintenance park stand. This has been reported as an INES Level 1 event.
- A significant personal contamination event occurred to an operator whilst undertaking Plutonium Contaminated Material (PCM) handling operations in B277 at Sellafield. Early indications were that the relevant annual dose limit may have been breached. This event was therefore provisionally rated as INES Level 1. Indications now suggest that the relevant annual dose limit will not have been breached although final results from biological sampling will take several weeks.
At Berkeley, intensive training of emergency scheme staff in the use of the new Emergency Control Centre and Access Control Point facilities culminated in a satisfactory demonstration of the site’s arrangements in a Level 1 Emergency Demonstration Exercise.
The regulator observed a Level 1 Emergency Exercise at Dungeness A. The exercise was complimented for being an interesting, well-managed scenario conducted in a professional and serious manner.
Hinkley Point A also successfully passed its Level 1 regulator-witnessed Emergency Exercise.
Dosimetry
The sites provide data on average individual dose, maximum individual dose and collective dose. These metrics are measured separately for SLC employees and for contractors. Note that the dose is measured by a dosimeter which has to be processed before the dose can be added to the record. Therefore dose figures always lag behind the current date. Dose figures are reported by calendar year rather than financial year and the graphs below present the latest figures for dosimeters worn by workers in calendar year 2007 to date. Individual average and maximum doses should be compared with the legal annual limit of 20 mSv.
Industrial Health and Safety
Five events reportable under RIDDOR occurred in November.
- At Sellafield, an employee was injured when the back of the chair on which he was sitting broke causing him to fall backwards. He sustained injury to the lower neck and back and was consequently absent from work for greater than three days.
- At Sellafield, a fire fighter was stepping down a ladder with a hose reel when he slipped and his foot went through the ladder opening causing him to collide with protective fencing. He was subsequently diagnosed with a dislocated shoulder. This event was reported as a RIDDOR Major Injury.
- At Sellafield, a contractor was walking outside a building when she fell over a stone, sustaining cuts and bruising to her fingers. The event was subsequently reported as a greater than three days Lost Time Accident.
- During a lifting operation in the Western Storage Area at Harwell to remove a heating element, a failure of the lifting rig occurred and the load fell. The failure of the lifting equipment was reported as a RIDDOR Dangerous Occurrence. The load struck a contractor resulting in a bruised shoulder but no lost work time.
- In the Liquid Effluent Treatment Plant at Harwell, a cleaning contractor bumped his head while standing up after unplugging a vacuum cleaner, resulting in a minor cut. The contractor was absent from work for four days and so the event was reported as a RIDDOR Lost Time Accident. UKAEA is investigating the circumstances associated with the absence with the contract company.
A Summons has been received by Sellafield Ltd to attend Whitehaven Magistrates Court regarding the fatality in B6 chimney in January 2003.
RIDDOR stands for the reporting of injuries diseases and dangerous occurrences regulations 1995. RIDDOR '95 requires the reporting of work-related accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences. It applies to all work activities, but not to all incidents.
Environmental Protection
No environmental non-compliances have been reported in November.
Beach monitoring at Sellafield (North) has been completed. None of the finds has impacted on the Health Protection Agency’s advice that no special precautionary actions are necessary on beaches near Sellafield. The monitoring of the Scottish Solway coast agreed with the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and the Environment Agency (EA) is expected to start in December 2007.
An Environmental Non Compliance is a breach of a permit condition set by the Environment Agency or the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency that prevents or controls risk of pollution to the environment.
Safety and Environmental Achievements
A Lloyds Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) Site Surveillance visit to Sellafield has resulted in the continued certification of Sellafield to ISO 9001 and 14001. The auditors reported that they had seen improved compliance with the Environmental Management system in all areas across the site.
A preliminary assessment of LLWR against Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Services (OHSAS) 18001 has been undertaken. Some improvements were identified but there were no issues that would stop LLWR proceeding with accreditation.
At Hinkley Point A, certification against ISO 9001, 14001 and 18001 was successful with the site being issued its new certificate against the environmental standard and only one corrective action against the others. This will lead to certification in three months time when close out of the action is confirmed.
The regulator undertook a 3 day inspection at Hunterston A covering a range of topics including shadow working arrangements, funding, licence condition inspections, regulatory schedule and Life Time Plan (LTP) 2008. The feedback to the site was very positive with a number of good practices identified and only 3 minor suggestions for improvement, all of which were already in hand. Hunterston A also hosted a 2 day inspection from the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) also covering a range of topics. Hunterston A reported that SEPA concluded that the site had risen to the challenge of ensuring that environmental matters were treated with the same importance as is placed on safety matters.
Wylfa satisfactorily completed an assessment against OHSAS 18001 and has been awarded certification under this standard for Occupational Health and Safety Management in addition to its existing ISO 9001 (Quality) and 14001 (Environmental) accreditations.
Wylfa was one of only three organisations in 2007 to be awarded a Corporate Standards Gold Award for Occupational Health by the Welsh Assembly Government.
External auditors spent three days on the Oldbury site performing an audit against ISO 18001 and re-certification against ISO 9001 and 14001. Some minor corrective actions were identified but it was recommended that Oldbury be awarded certification for all three standards.
Chapelcross underwent a successful audit against the requirements of ISO 9001, 14001 and OHSAS 18001.
The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has carried out a Radioactive Substances Act compliance inspection at Dounreay as part of the process of transfer of authorisations to Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL). The inspection outcome was generally positive.
The Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) is a measure of the number of injuries and illnesses that occur as a rate compared against the number of hours worked.
Please note
We give the actual number of occurrences in each category. Not all sites employ the same number of people and/or undertake the same activities. This must be taken into account before comparisons between sites can be made.