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Improvement required at Devonport Royal Dockyard

The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has served an Improvement Notice on Devonport Royal Dockyard Ltd for shortfalls in maintenance procedures at its Plymouth site.

The notice was served after Devonport Royal Dockyard failed to carry out scheduled maintenance tests on an effluent extraction system which is used to support maintenance and repair activities within the licensed site.

Under ONR licence conditions, nuclear sites are required to carry out maintenance on equipment within a specified plant maintenance schedule.

While there was no immediate risk to worker or public safety as a result of this issue, ONR has previously raised regulatory concerns around maintenance on the site and now judges that insufficient progress has been made in this area.

A spokesperson for ONR said: “This maintenance issue in isolation did not compromise public or worker safety. However, it is important that systems and equipment which have a safety function are appropriately maintained, and we require Devonport Royal Dockyard Ltd to ensure the necessary procedural improvements are made in a timely manner.”

Devonport Royal Dockyard must comply with the requirements of the notice by 31 August 2021.