- Site: Heysham 1 and 2
- IR number: 20-020
- Date: June 2020
- LC numbers: 11
Executive summary
Purpose of Intervention
The purpose of this intervention was to undertake compliance inspection activities at EDF Energy Nuclear Generation Limited’s (NGL) Heysham 1 and Heysham 2 power stations, in line with the ONR’s inspection programme contained in the relevant ONR Integrated Intervention Strategies (IIS) for 2020/21. Due to the restrictions still in place due to Covid-19 the inspection was conducted remotely via Skype with relevant documents shared before and after the inspection.
Interventions Carried Out by ONR
The main focus of the intervention was to conduct a planned compliance inspection on LC11 – Emergency Arrangements. The inspection was conducted by the nominated site inspector for Heysham 2 and the Operating Reactors lead for LC11.
It was conducted utilising the Emergency Preparedness and Response Capability Map (EPRCM). This is a framework used to evaluate emergency planning and response in the context of seven subject areas. ONR aims to evaluate all areas of the EPRCM on each operating reactor site during a five-year cycle. During this inspection we sampled evidence from several sections of the Capability Map.
Key Findings, Inspector's Opinions and Reasons for Judgements Made
Due to the inspection taking place remotely no physical inspection took place of onsite facilities or equipment. We interviewed the Emergency Preparedness Engineers (EPE) for both sites. The EPEs had updated the respective capability maps prior to the inspection. Using the capability maps we sampled evidence from several sections of the Capability Map,
- Anticipation – The emergency situations that the duty holder needs to be prepared for have been identified in advance.
- Assessment – The ways in which the identified threats and hazards may initiate and develop has been assessed, and potential consequences and mitigation have been identified.
- Preparation – Staff, equipment and facilities to respond to an emergency
- Recovery – Arrangements are in place to manage and minimise the long term effects of any unexpected event.
The evidence presented was consistent with the claims in the capability map and we found that since the previous update a number of areas have improved and no significant shortfalls were identified.
During the inspection we found evidence of compliance with both station-specific and fleet-wide processes for both stations. We felt that in some areas additional information could be presented in the capability map of existing station arrangements to improve the evidence and claims.
We identified some areas that will be discussed with the NGL fleet lead for emergency arrangements to improve consistency across all stations, though these did not impair the emergency response capability at either station.
Conclusion of Intervention
In relation to LC11, we judged that an inspection rating of Green (no formal action) is warranted for both stations. There are no findings from this inspection that could significantly undermine nuclear safety.