Technical/Upgrading Activities
Since the Chornobyl accident in 1986, Hungary has sought nuclear safety expertise from the West. Among Eastern European countries, it has led the way in forging ties with public- and private-sector organizations.
Before MVM canceled its order in 1989 for two third- generation
VVER-1000
units as the fifth and sixth units at the Paks site, it had awarded several contracts to Western companies for assistance in building the units.
The Paks plant has also contracted with Western firms for upgrades to the four VVER-440 Model V213 nuclear units. Finland's Nokia Oy was awarded an order for a plant simulator, and another Finnish firm Imatran Voima Oy (IVO) contracted to provide inspection and quality-control support, as well as safety and construction consulting, for all units at Paks. In 1990, Spain's Tecnatom signed a contract with the IAEA to supply Paks with a system for acquiring and processing data from ultrasonic in-service inspection of pressure vessels and other components. The company carried out a partial inspection of Unit 3's reactor vessel in 1993 that showed the vessel to be in highly satisfactory condition, with no reportable defects in the inspected zones.
In 1991, the Hungarian Atomic Energy Commission launched a study of Paks to ensure that the plant met Western safety standards. Nuclear experts from KFKI, the country's atomic energy research institute, evaluated the safety enhancement and backfitting measures taken and planned at Paks. One major task indicated by the analysis was upgrading the plant's seismic resistance. Under a Belgian-Hungarian energy agreement signed in May 1993, Belgium will contribute BF 20 million ($660,000) for safety and seismological tests to support safety systems and the construction of a waste storage facility. KFKI issued its report in 1994, establishing three categories of safety issues: elimination of principal design deficiencies, significant reduction of likelihood of large release of radioactive materials, and significant reduction in core melt frequency.
In early 1994, Paks launched a four-year safety project to establish a maintenance training center, introduce international training techniques and help to enhance the plant's safety culture. Funding for the $7 million project is provided by the IAEA ($1.3 million), the U.S. government ($400,000), the European Union's PHARE program ($450,000) and Paks.
Paks will use the reactor pressure vessel, steam generator, and auxiliary equipment from the canceled Zarnowiec VVER-440/ V213 nuclear plant in Poland in an IAEA training program begun in 1996.
Under the sponsorship of DOE, the U.S. firm Scientech supported the Hungarian Electrical Energy Research Institute (VEIKI) and the Paks plant in use of simulator data for operator training and probabilistic safety assessment applications. The project consisted of 1) design of a simulator data collection and evaluation system, 2) design and conduct of a series of test scenarios, and 3) design and development of a barcode data collection system, as part of the overall data collection and evaluation system. The system can be used to enhance safety of Paks operation by improving operator training.
