HC Deb 08 January 2002 vol 377 cc566-7W
Mrs. Ann Cryer

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what means of inspection and deduction were used to determine the safety case for HMS Sovereign, HMS Superb, HMS Sceptre, HMS Spartan, HMS Splendid, HMS Trafalgar, HMS Turbulent, HMS Tireless, HMS Torbay, HMS Trenchant, HMS Talent and HMS Triumph. [24912]

Mr. Ingram

The Reactor Plant Safety Justifications for Royal Navy submarines aims to demonstrate, through detailed calculation and reasoned argument, that the risks of operation are acceptable and as low as reasonably practicable. The large suite of documentation that forms the safety case is structured around a detailed and comprehensive set of Safety Principles and Safety Criteria. These prescribe the aspects to be considered and include such items as: the basis of design; use of proven engineering practice and technology; system integrity; maintenance and testing; reliability; inspection and results; human and equipment failures; and operation in conditions where a fault has occurred. A range of different tests and inspections are used to certify key components of the reactor plant.