Executive summary
Date(s) of inspection:
- September 2023
Aim of inspection
The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) undertakes all its regulatory interactions with the Sellafield site licensee, Sellafield Limited, against a strategy defined by the ONR Sellafield, Decommissioning, Fuel and Waste (SDFW) Division.
In accordance with this strategy, ONR undertakes Corporate Licence Condition Inspections (CLCIs) of selected Licence Conditions (LCs) which are attached to the nuclear site licence for the Sellafield site because they are considered to be necessary or desirable in the interests of safety or appropriate with respect to the handling, treatment and disposal of nuclear matter. This was a CLCI of Licence Condition 25 (LC25) “Operational records”.
In accordance with the SDFW strategy, ONR also undertakes inspections against the Nuclear Safeguards (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (NSR19) and the associated ONR Nuclear Material Accountancy, Control, and Safeguards Assessment Principles (ONMACS). This inspection considered records relevant to the accountancy, control and safeguarding of Qualifying Nuclear Material (QNM). Henceforth we will refer to such records as “nuclear safeguards records”.
Subject(s) of inspection
- LC25 – Operational records – Rating: Amber
- NSR19 Reg10 – Operating records – Rating: Green
Key findings, inspector’s opinions and reasons for judgement made
The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) undertakes all its regulatory interactions with the Sellafield site licensee, Sellafield Limited, against a strategy defined by the ONR Sellafield, Decommissioning, Fuel and Waste (SDFW) Division. This strategy recognises the need to apply proportionate regulatory oversight of safety, security, and safeguards compliance across the sites we regulate.
The SDFW strategy also describes strategic ways of working. These include effective use of resources by effective integration of ONR purposes providing a joined-up approach. In line with this strategic way of working, this inspection covered both ONR’s nuclear safety purposes and ONR’s nuclear safeguards purposes.
In relation to ONR’s nuclear safety purposes, ONR undertakes Corporate Licence Condition Inspections (CLCIs) of selected Licence Conditions (LCs) which are attached to the nuclear site licence for the Sellafield site because they are considered to be necessary or desirable in the interests of safety or appropriate with respect to the handling, treatment and disposal of nuclear matter. This inspection was a planned CLCI of Licence Condition 25 (LC25) “Operational records”.
A specific aim of the LC25 element of this inspection was to follow up on a CLCI of Licence Condition 6 (LC6) “Documents, records, authorities and certificates” which took place in March-April 2022. This CLCI led to a Regulatory Issue (RI) being raised which required Sellafield Limited to evaluate the risks associated with records across the entire Sellafield Limited enterprise. This RI was closed in time for the evaluated records risks to inform the targeting of this inspection.
In relation to ONR’s nuclear safeguards purposes, ONR undertakes Safeguards compliance inspections at the Sellafield site in line with the ONR Safeguards inspection and assessment plan 2023/2024. This was an inspection from this plan of compliance with the requirements of Regulation 10 “Operating records” of the Nuclear Safeguards (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (NSR19). This inspection sought to collect evidence of corporate arrangements and their implementation to make judgements of compliance against this regulation. This inspection sampled records relevant to the accountancy, control and safeguarding of Qualifying Nuclear Material (QNM). Henceforth, we will refer to such records as nuclear safeguards records.
Objectives of this inspection
In relation to ONR’s nuclear safety purposes the objectives of this inspection were to determine the adequacy, judged against ONR’s expectations, of:
a. Sellafield Limited’s site-wide corporate arrangements made to comply with LC25;
b. Implementation on a sampling basis informed by risk of Sellafield Limited’s site wide corporate arrangements to address the requirements of LC25;
c. The interfaces between Sellafield Limited’s site-wide corporate arrangements made to comply with LC25 and particularly relevant other LCs;
d. Experience and training of selected persons assigned responsibility under Sellafield Limited’s site-wide corporate arrangements to address the requirements of LC25;
e. Sellafield Limited’s organisational capability related to LC25;
f. Sellafield Limited’s means of gaining internal assurance of compliance with LC25 and learning from incidents related to LC25; and,
g. Sellafield Limited’s management of the risks associated with records.
Taking into account evidence obtained relating to LC25 operational records which applies also to nuclear safeguards records, in relation to ONR’s nuclear safeguards purposes the objectives of this inspection were to determine the adequacy, judged against ONR’s expectations, of:
a. Sellafield Limited’s site-wide corporate arrangements for nuclear safeguards records;
b. Implementation on a sampling basis informed by risk of Sellafield Limited’s site-wide corporate arrangements for nuclear safeguards records; and,
c. Sellafield Limited’s management of the risks associated with nuclear safeguards records.
This joint corporate inspection of LC25 and NSR19 Regulation 10 was undertaken on 20-22 September 2023. The inspection was led by a Sellafield Corporate Site Inspector with support from a Safeguards Inspector and two Supply Chain Specialist Inspectors. Henceforth, the use of the pronoun “we” refers to this team whilst the pronoun “I” refers to the Sellafield Corporate Site Inspector for judgements relating to LC25 and to the Safeguards Inspector for judgements relating to NSR19 Regulation 10.
To meet the objectives of this inspection we undertook a desktop review of documentation prior to the inspection, and this was followed by a face-to-face inspection with members of the Sellafield Limited central records team and with persons throughout the business having responsibilities relating to records.
We consider that the engagement prior to and during this inspection has allowed us to complete a meaningful CLCI of LC25 and NSR19 Regulation 10.
Key findings are recorded separately in relation to the following areas:
a. The overall inspection;
b. Licence Condition 25; and,
c. NSR 19 Regulation 10.
We identified the following observations as areas of good practice relating to delivery of the overall inspection:
a. There has been a positive response to the RI raised relating to records risks following the earlier inspection of LC6 which provided valuable information to inform the scope of this inspection;
b. Subsequent to the closure of the RI relating to records risks, positive work has continued, which provided further valuable information to inform the scope of this inspection; and,
c. Open, honest and helpful discussions and those persons involved were knowledgeable and receptive to challenge. In particular, we acknowledge the openness and transparency in identification of site-wide risks associated with records and areas for improvement.
Licence Condition 25
On the basis of the evidence sampled before and during this inspection we identified the following observations as areas of good practice relating to Sellafield Limited’s LC25 arrangements and/ or their implementation:
a. Several facilities acknowledged the support provided by the central records team;
b. The Information Asset Owners (IAOs) and the Local Records Officers (LROs) interviewed demonstrated good understanding of their roles and responsibilities;
c. The Sellafield Limited assurance plan for Financial Year (FY) 2024/2025 will consider and target the risks highlighted in the IAO/LRO risk assessments;
d. Future solid waste disposal assurance activities plan to increase focus on records based on the output of the records risk assessment;
e. The highest rated Information Technology (IT) system for obsolescence risk has been identified and mitigation and contingency has been put in place pending the required system replacement;
f. For Magnox East River (MER) and Spent Fuel Services (SFS), the LROs have responded positively to their own records risk assessment findings; and,
g. For MER and SFS, local instructions on records management contain clear advice on quality assurance, auditing and handover.
On the basis of the evidence sampled before and during this inspection we provided the following regulatory advice relating to Sellafield Limited’s LC25 arrangements and/ or their implementation. Sellafield Limited to consider:
a. Setting up a forum for LROs so that issues and good practice can be shared amongst the LRO community;
b. Improving the quality and consistency of annual records risk assessments carried out by IAOs and LROs by: a) providing risk assessment training; b) providing further guidance on assigning Red/Amber/Green (RAG) ratings; c) providing further guidance on what to do if Amber or Red ratings are assigned; and, d) obtaining feedback on the risk assessment question sets from the community of IAOs and LROs;
c. Producing an annual summary of records risks report following the annual update of the contributing IAO and the LRO assessments;
d. Updating the first summary of records risks report to include a recommendation to rectify the identified shortfalls related to supply chain records; and,
e. Making changes to allow assurance activities and Condition Reports associated with records to be efficiently and reliably identified.
On the basis of the evidence sampled before and during this inspection, we identified the following regulatory findings relating to Sellafield Limited’s LC25 arrangements and/ or their implementation, representing gaps against relevant good practice. Sellafield Limited to:
a. Provide a clear and coherent enterprise level supported record management strategy, programme and realistic and resourced plan to deliver the remainder of the Records Management Improvement Programme (RMIP) and address the risks identified during the first annual review of records risks;
b. Establish the Nuclear Baseline for records management (covering IAOs, LROs and members of the central records team);
c. Review the Site Master Record Retention Schedule (RRS) and the governance arrangements for the Site Master RRS against relevant good practice and make reasonably practicable improvements to address any gaps identified;
d. Ensure that the central records team undertakes assurance of Local RRSs; and,
e. Review the criteria for identifying LC25 operating records and introduce a filter in the Site Master RRS to allow LC25 operational records to be more easily identified.
NSR 19 Regulation 10
I spoke with the Sellafield Corporate Lead for Safeguards, who leads the Nuclear Material Accountancy and Safeguards (NMAS) team. This team is responsible for the coordination of nuclear material accountancy information from across the Sellafield site and the processing of this information for onwards reporting to ONR. The team is also responsible for maintaining Accountancy and Control Plans for all Material Balance Areas on the Sellafield site, in accordance with NSR19 Regulation 6.
The Accountancy and Control Plans provide arrangements for the satisfactory maintenance and processing of operating records that contain information on movements and handling of QNM.
Conclusion
These are recorded separately in relation to the following areas:
a. Licence Condition 25; and,
b. NSR 19 Regulation 10.
Licence Condition 25
I (Sellafield Corporate Site Inspector) have considered each of the regulatory findings summarised earlier and I consider that these represent:
a. A significant shortfall against an identified relevant good practice when compared with appropriate benchmarks; and,
b. A significant or systematic failure to implement or meet compliance arrangements.
In making these judgements I have taken into account a corporate LC6 inspection in June 2016 rated as Amber. The led to a multi-year RMIP being put in place in December 2016.
During this inspection we established that the RMIP has now been closed approximately five years prematurely but that, prior to closure, progress had been slower than planned.
Although Sellafield Limited has provided a commitment to complete the extant RMIP work, the recently completed first enterprise annual assessment of records risks has demonstrated that significant risks remain. It is also the case that, due to the timing of the closure of the RMIP and producing the assessment of records risks, work to assess the records risks will not necessarily already be included in the extant RMIP work.
During the inspection, we also established that:
a. The Nuclear Baseline for records management has not been defined in line with relevant good practice; and,
b. Particularly for LROs, there is a substantial gap between the number of LROs estimated to be needed and those in place and that this position will remain for an extended period.
I am of the opinion that this position represents a significant or systematic failure to implement or meet several LCs, including LC6, LC25 and Licence Condition 36 (LC36) “Organisational capability”.
Based on this I have assigned a rating of AMBER – Seek Improvement, to this inspection.
I will apply ONR’s Enforcement Management Model (EMM) to this situation and propose a Level 3 RI “Sellafield – Shortfalls Related to Records Management (Site-Wide)” to monitor Sellafield Limited’s work to address all the findings identified in this inspection.
NSR19 Regulation 10
Based on the sample inspected, I (Nuclear Safeguards Inspector) judge that Sellafield Limited are implementing their arrangements for accountancy and control of QNM in line with regulatory expectations and are compliant with NSR19 Regulation 10.
I therefore rate Sellafield Limited’s performance in this inspection against this regulation as Green.