Site Licence

There is no reason why the commercial recoverer cannot operate in all four modes using the same site, storage, refining facilities, personnel, transport and, perhaps most important of all, the same site licence. 

Safety. Distillation of solvents involves the safe handling of large amounts of vapour that may be toxic, explosive, flammable or strong-smeUing. Some plants may not be able to cope with such material satisfactorily and may have difficulty in getting a site licence. 

All nuclear power stations in the UK are built and operated to the conditions of a nuclear site licence in which the definition of the site and description of the plant are unique to its location. The responsibility for the licensing and inspection of all nuclear installations lies with the Health and Safety Executive, these functions being performed by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (Nil). 

The Site Licence is a simple document containing a brief identification of the site, the type and size of the reactors, and a plan from an Ordnance Survey map delineating the site boundary. The Licence refers to schedules which require operating rule and maintenance schedules to be written and formally submitted to the Nil for approval. These are legally binding upon all station personnel and such documents are unique to a particular power station site. 

All appointed staff are therefore required to have an understanding of the Site Licence. The engineers appointed to Operating and Maintenance positions need to have an in-depth understanding and appreciation of Station Operating Instructions (SOIs), Plant Item Operating Instructions (PIOIs), Plant Maintenance Instructions (PIMIs) and other technical and safety related matters. These are described below. 

Thus, there are a number of main features attached to a Nuclear Power Station s Site Licence affecting the operational aspects of the station over its lifetime. Apart from the licensing procedures from preconstruction to full operation, the site licence contains major sections governing Operating Rules, Maintenance Procedures and Emergency Plans. 

The station Operating Rules are the instructions from the Board (CEGB and SSEB) to the Station Manager. They can be altered only after the endorsement of the Nuclear Safety Committee and the formal approval of the Nil The Safety Committee, which is again a requirement of the Site Licence,... 

Maintenance of nnclear power stations has a similar pattern of safety control as operation. All nuclear power stations are required by the conditions of the Site Licence to have approved maintenance schedules. 

The Site Licence specifies that each reactor should be shut down every two years for major maintenance, and that the licensee must obtain the consent of the Nil before operations can restart and must send a full and detailed report to the Nil describing the maintenance carried out. Because of some essential safety or performance need, modifications can be undertaken, following a detailed formal procedure involving the Nuclear Safety Committee. Final approval is necessary from the Nil for the highest category modifications. 

U.K. Health and Safety Executive (1994a), Nuclear Site Licences under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (As Amended) Notes for Applicants, Report HS6 120, London, HSE Books. 

U.K. Health and Safety Executive (1996), Restructuring and Privatisation of the U.K. Nuclear Power Industry Report on the Work by the Health and Safety Executive to Grant Replacement Nuclear Site Licences, Sudbury, United Kingdom, HSE Books. 

Once the waste contractor has been selected, the waste producer should regularly inspect the disposal site. Some companies carry out a Duty of Care visit annually others are less frequent at three years. It is important for the waste producer to ensure they have a current copy of the carriers registration and waste contractor s licence. The most important licence condition that the waste producer should check is that the disposal site is licensed to dispose of the type of waste generated by the producer, and that the carrier can handle that waste. The Environment Agency has the responsibility for enforcing the site licence conditions. Any queries, concerns or unanswered questions should be directed to the Agency. 

Phase 2 is the Nil assessment of the application for a Nuclear Site Licence and therefore is site, reactor design and operator specific. 

The Nil operates a permissioning approach to regulation of nuclear power in the UK compared with the prescriptive approach in the US. The responsibility lies with the operator (licensee) to demonstrate that he is operating his site safely in compliance with the 36 Site Licence Conditions. These conditions cover a range of requirements, which are designed to ensure that the plant is operated in a safe and forward looking manner. 

The Site Licence conditions set requirements on the management arrangements, which includes the level of qualification and experience of the operator organisation to confirm that they are an intelligent operator. 

The purpose of this chapter is to explain the existing and proposed safety management arrangements which will ensure that the required levels of safety and enviromnental protection will be delivered throughout the lifetime of an APIOOO plant. Responsibility for safety and the environment will rest with the site licence holder (the licensee) once a site has been licensed. However, there are arrangements and good practices which the vendor can bring to bear which will support the licensee, and these also will be discussed in this chapter. 

For the Site Licence PCSR, this section will describe the proposed administrative organisation, the equipment, instrumentation and facilities, and the procedures for enabling a radiation protection programme. The prospective Site Licensee will complete this section. The radiation protection programme will cover ... 

The passive plant design is such that the environmental consequences of a LOCA will be contained using passive safety systems, and there will be no requirement for operator intervention for 72 hours. Detailed management systems and processes will, however, be developed during the site licence application phase (see PCSR Chapter 9). This will include systems and process relating to the safety of the reactor coolant system and mitigation of a LOCA. 

Management systems and process will be developed during the site licence applieation phase as described in Chapter 9 of the PCSR. This will include systems and processes relating to boric acid solution storage and covering ... 

The development of a site-specific environmental monitoring plan will be informed by the Conceptual Site Model (CSM), which will be developed as part of the Environmental Statement that is required to support an application for a Nuclear Site Licence and relevant planning consents. With regard to environmental pollution, the CSM defines the following. 

The outline plan forms the basis for a detailed deeommissioning strategy to be produeed by the plant lieensee/operator and developed throughout the lifecycle of the facility. As the end of the operational lifetime of the facility is approached, a detailed deconunissioning plan will be produced. This detailed plan will expand and improve upon the outline plan, and will reflect the best available technology. As required by the nuclear site licence, the development of the detailed plan will be undertaken with full consultation with the regulatory authorities. 

Nuclear site licence holders are also covered by section 7 of the Nuclear Installations Act which imposes an absolute duty to prevent damage or injury in relation to nuclear matter and sets up a... 

If a spent fuel storage facility is to be located on the same site as, or adjacent to, an existing nuclear facility (e.g. power reactor), this wiO generally require changes to the site licence. The presence of the new storage facility will alter the safety analysis and environmental impact analysis previously submitted to the Regulatory Body. 

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