The Nuclear Installation Inspectorate (NII) published a detailed audit of the management of safety at UKAEA’s Dounraey site in September 1998. The audit report made 143 recommendations. In September 2000, the NII produced its second annual report, providing an update on the position reached by UKAEA in responding to the 143 recommendations.
Currently, nine recommendations have been fully closed out. In addition, 20 recommendations have been completed by UKAEA and have entered the six month review phase. A further 51 recommendations – mainly in the management and safety culture areas – are expected to be closed or placed into the review phase in the near future.
While UKAEA has made good progress in addressing the recommendations that were associated with changes to their management system, some strategic recommendations, that require extensive engineering input, are still some way from completion.
When UKAEA launched its initial Action Plan, the recruitment of experienced engineering and scientific staff was vital to its success. UKAEA has successfully achieved its initial recruitment targets, but there are still some specialist vacancies to fill.
