Executive summary
Date(s) of inspection: January 2024
Aim of inspection
It was identified in the UNS inspection IR-22-008 that there was a reliance on manual transactions and no inventory tracking system within the facility. URENCO are looking to address this by putting improved arrangements and controls in place, ONR carried out this compliance inspection to judge the adequacy of those arrangements and their implementation.
The overall purpose remains to seek regulatory confidence that the operator is maintaining an appropriate system of accountancy and control of qualifying nuclear material that includes suitable arrangements for material balance evaluation and that those arrangements are being adequately implemented in line with the requirements of NSR19 and ONRs regulatory expectations detailed in the ONMACS guidance.
ONR formed regulatory judgements and provided a rating in line with ONR’s inspection rating guidance of URENCO’s compliance against regulations 6, 9, 10, 11 and 12 in NSR19:
To form effective regulatory judgements on URENCO’s compliance with the NSR19 regulations listed above, ONR, where relevant to inspection activities, consider the fundamental safeguards expectations (FSEs) 7 and 9 detailed in the ONR Guidance for Nuclear Material Accountancy Control and Safeguards (ONMACS).
Subject(s) of inspection
- FSE 7 Nuclear Material Tracking - Rating: Green
- FSE 9 Material Balance - Rating: Green
- NSR19 Reg06 - Accountancy and control of qualifying nuclear material - Rating: Green
- NSR19 Reg09 - Operation of an accountancy and control plan - Rating: Green
- NSR19 Reg10 - Operating records - Rating: Green
- NSR19 Reg11 - Accounting records - Rating: Green
- NSR19 Reg12 - Accounting reports - Rating: Green
- Overall Inspection Rating - Rating: Green
Key findings, inspector's opinions and reasons for judgement made
This Accountancy and Control Plan (ACP) and accountancy compliance inspection at URENCO UK Ltd – QBCX was performed for the reasons stated above. As part of this inspection, I spoke to personnel fulfilling a variety of different roles, I sampled a number of documents, was given a presentation outlining the sites activities and I undertook a plant visit.
Based on the sample inspected, I judge that URENCO Nuclear Stewardship Ltd has appropriate arrangements for tracking nuclear material in QBC1-5 and that those arrangements are being adequately implemented in accordance with NSR19 Regulation 9 (1) requirement to implement and comply with the arrangements and procedures described in the accountancy and control plan and ONR regulatory expectations detailed in FSE 7 of ONMACS
From my sample I am content that URENCO Nuclear Stewardship Ltd are maintaining adequate operating and accounting records required by NSR19 Regulations 10 and 11 and that these records are traceable to and underpin the declarations within the accounting reports submitted to ONR in line with NSR19 Regulation 12.
I provided regulatory advice requiring URENCO Nuclear Stewardship Ltd to conduct an extent of condition review, and where required, implement corrective actions to ensure that in plant operating instructions are the most update versions.
Conclusion
No matters requiring immediate regulatory attention were identified during this inspection.
On the basis of the evidence sampled at the time of the inspection, I judge that URENCO Nuclear Stewardship Ltd are adequately implementing arrangements for accountancy and control of QNM in line with regulatory expectations and are compliant with NSR19 Regulations 6,10 and 11. I also judge that URENCO Nuclear Stewardship Ltd are broadly meeting the expectations for nuclear material tracking detailed in FSE 7 and 9.
I judge that URENCO Nuclear Stewardship Ltd is complying with the requirements of NSR19 regulations 6, 9, 10,11 and 12 and FSE 7 and 9.
I did not identify any shortfalls and therefore judge that a rating of green (no formal enforcement) is appropriate.