January 31 through February 13, 1998
Prepared by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, Washington
This report is available on the Internet at https://insp.pnnl.gov:2080

Ukraine

Training Technology Being Transferred to Rivne. A team of training experts from Khmelnytskyy nuclear power plant (NPP), the Engineering and Technical Center for the Training of Nuclear Industry Personnel (ETC), and the United States began a two-week working visit at Rivne NPP on February 2. The team is collaborating with training and technical experts at the plant to develop a pilot training program on Instrumentation and Controls (Soldering). This visit is the third of four planned to Rivne NPP to develop course materials for this pilot program. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

Progress Made on Upgrading Chornobyl Fire Safety. Major upgrades under way at Chornobyl NPP to improve fire safety include

• providing and applying fire-resistant coating to structural steel in the Unit 3 turbine building
• providing and installing a smoke and fire detection system
• installing fire doors already provided to the plant.

During the past few weeks, the fire-resistant coating material cleared Ukrainian customs. The material is being held by Askenn, the Ukrainian company that will install it. Workers will receive training in application techniques later in February, and, weather permitting, will begin applying the material to the structural steel shortly after the training ends. Design work for the smoke and fire detection system is on schedule for completion in March. Negotiations for installation of the fire doors are nearing completion. All fire safety upgrade projects at Chornobyl NPP are scheduled to be completed during 1998. (Rich Denning, PNNL, 614-424-7412)

Chornobyl Shelter Project

Agreement Ratification Smoothes Path for Shelter Implementation Plan. On February 2, the Rada (Ukraine's parliament) ratified an important agreement between the government of Ukraine and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The Financial Framework Agreement, which covers the Chornobyl Shelter Project, contains a key element--an annex on contractor indemnification. The annex basically provides a form that, when completed, appears to exempt contractors from liability for damages resulting from their work on projects related to the Shelter Implementation Plan. The specifc impact of the Framework Agreement on indemnification will remain somewhat uncertain, pending legal interpretation and analysis. However, ratification of the agreement and the indemnification annex increases the likelihood of more contractors bidding on the work, thus ensuring continuation of the ongoing tendering process for the project management unit (PMU) and the early biddable projects (EBPs).

Bids for the PMU effort are due to the EBRD on February 17. Proposals related to the EBPs are due on March 15. Award of the contract for the PMU is expected in mid-March. The selected contractor for the PMU then will evaluate proposals received for the EBPs. Contracts for those projects likely will be awarded in the April-May 1998 time frame. (Dennis Kreid, PNNL, 509-375-2170)

Slovakia

Trnava Instructors Receive Training. During the first two weeks of February, U.S. training specialists were at the Trnava Training Center, working with center instructors. The group collaborated on review and development of material for the Instructor Training course and practiced implementing the Instructor Training pilot course. During the second week, the course was implemented. Instructors from the Trnava Training Center were participants in the pilot course. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

Cross-Cutting Activities

Hardware for Simulators Readied for Shipment to Host Countries. Simulation computers, instructor station computers, and other hardware underwent three days of testing at the GSE Power Systems factory in Columbia, Maryland, during the first week of February. The components will be used in the full-scope simulator being upgraded at Zaporizhzhya NPP and in the analytical simulator under development for Bilibino NPP. The equipment now is being prepared for shipment to Ukraine and Russia. (Ken Erickson, PNNL, 509-372-4063)

Planned Activities

* Scope expanded February 14-24 -- Oradell, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C., USA; Great Britain.
Engineering and Technology. Key staff members of Armenia NPP, Armenia's Ministry of Energy, and nuclear regulatory organization will meet with representatives of U.S. contractor Burns & Roe and members of the U.S. team to discuss cooperative work on reactor safety in Armenia. The Armenian delegation also will tour Indian Point 3 NPP. Following the U.S. part of the trip, the Armenian representatives will travel to England to visit the valve manufacturing company Hopkinson, which will be manufacturing isolation valves for Armenia NPP. (Dennis Meyers, DOE, 301-903-1418) (Workshop No. 98-009; Travel Coordinator Gail Flora, PNNL, 509-375-6554)

February 15-21 -- Vienna, Austria.
Plant Safety Assessment. A technical expert from the U.S. team will participate in discussions of efforts to validate the RELAP5 computer code for RBMK reactor safety analyses. Representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency and of Japan, Germany, Sweden, Russia, and the United States will compare results of calculations performed on Japanese experimental data. Those comparisons are expected to lead to International Atomic Energy Agency acceptance of the RELAP5 code as generally applicable for RBMK analysis work. (Walt Pasedag, DOE, 301-903-3628)

February 15-21 -- Sofia, Bulgaria.
Emergency Operating Instructions. By invitation, U.S. experts will conduct a workshop for staff of Bulgaria's Committee on the Use of Atomic Energy for Peaceful Purposes. The workshop will cover the American approach to regulating emergency operating instructions. Bulgarian officials will use the information in drafting its regulation for symptom-based emergency operating instructions. (Dennis Meyers, DOE, 301-903-1418)

February 15-28 -- Slavutych, Ukraine.
Chornobyl Initiatives. A U.S. delegation will participate in the dedication ceremony and related activities for the new facilities of the Chornobyl Center/Slavutych Laboratory. U.S. participants also will meet with Ukrainian officials to discuss plans for technical work for the Center and cooperative efforts to diversify the economy of Slavutych. (Terry Lash, DOE, 202-586-6450)

February 16-20 -- Kyiv, Ukraine.
Ukraine Quality Assurance. Representatives of the Ukraine Quality Assurance Project Group will meet to provide a status report on the National Quality Assurance Standard for Nuclear Power Plants, which will be issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Administration (NRA) as a normative document. They also will discuss plans for development of lower-level quality assurance procedures and begin developing a pilot procedure for assessment of quality. Representatives of all NPPs in Ukraine, Energoatom, and Energoatom contractors will attend, in addition to technical specialists from Scientech, Inc., and U.S. team members from two national laboratories. The NRA may be represented as well. At this meeting, Energoatom likely will request to expand the membership of the Project Group to include the NRA's scientific and technical center. (Lief Erickson, PNNL, 509-372-4097)

February 18-23 -- Slavutych, Ukraine.
Chornobyl Initiatives. Technical experts from the U.S. team will oversee the reconfiguration of the DOE-provided satellite telecommunications system for the Chornobyl Center on Nuclear Safety, Radioactive Waste and Radioecology/Slavutych Laboratory for International Research and Technology. The U.S. team representatives also will provide training for Slavutych Laboratory personnel on operation of the telecommunications system and associated computer network. (Brian Kremer, DOE, 202-586-9096)

February 21-28 -- Energodar, Ukraine.
Ukraine Nondestructive Examination. Technical experts from the U.S. team will oversee delivery and setup of a remote system for inspecting steam generator tubes at Zaporizhzhya NPP. The system, which was assembled in Zagreb, Croatia, will enable plant staff to examine and repair leaking tubes in situ. (Greg Trosman, DOE, 301-903-3581; Tom Taylor, PNNL, 509-375-4331)

February 21-28 -- Moscow, Russia.
Management and Operational Safety; Regulatory and Institutional Framework. Two U.S. project leaders and representatives of Rosenergoatom and VNIIAES will discuss the Kalinin Local Crisis Center project. They will identify the activities remaining and schedule needed for project closure. Subsequent meetings with Gosatomnadzor representatives will focus on that agency's work to develop regulatory standards for fuel cycle facilities. The U.S. team will review and comment on the draft standards, finalize the agenda for a March workshop on radiation protection inspections, and provide training to Gosatomnadzor staff on issues and technical information related to decontamination and decommissioning. (Dan Giessing, DOE, 202-586-9466)

February 21-28 -- Madrid, Spain.
Plant Safety Assessment; Reliability Database Development. The International Atomic Energy Agency technical meeting, "Probabilistic Safety Assessment Applications to Improve Nuclear Power Plant Safety," will be attended by a technical lead from the U.S. team and representatives of host-country organizations involved in developing reliability databases. Participants will represent INIT (Ukraine), VNIIAES (Russia), VUJE (Slovakia), and NRI-Rez (Czech Republic). (Greg Trosman, DOE, 301-903-3581) (Workshop No. 98-007; Travel Coordinator Gail Flora, PNNL, 509-375-6554)

February 22-28 -- Moscow, Russia.
Emergency Operating Instructions. A U.S. technical lead and a representative of Science Applications International Corporation will work with staff of VNIIAES, Gidropress, and Balakovo and Kola NPPs to mentor how best to perform analyses of emergency operating instructions. The U.S. team members also will discuss strategies for completing the work. (Dennis Meyers, DOE, 301-903-1418)

* February 23-25 -- Slavutych, Ukraine.
Chornobyl Initiatives. In conjunction with the dedication of new facilities for the Chornobyl Center/Slavutych Laboratory, a workshop on phytoremediation, biomass energy conversion, and waste management is scheduled. Members of the international scientific community are expected to attend. (Jim Hartley, PNNL, 509-372-4428)

February 23-March 6 -- Beloyarsk NPP, Russia.
Training. A U.S. training specialist will conduct a working visit at Beloyarsk NPP to continue review and development of training material and practice implementation of the Sodium Systems Maintenance pilot course. The course itself will be implemented during the second week of the visit. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

March 1-4 -- Kyiv, Ukraine.
Nondestructive Examination Initiative. A technical expert from the U.S. team will meet with officials of Energoatom and the National University of Ukraine. Discussions will cover the initial action plan for a project to establish a centralized certification and training program in nondestructive examination within Ukraine. (Greg Trosman, DOE, 301-903-3581)

* March 2-5 -- Trnava, Slovakia.
Simulators. The integration plan for the Trnava V-2 full-scope simulator projects at the Trnava Training Center will be finalized. Discussions are expected to cover options for integrating the U.S.-funded RELAP5 software and the European Commission-funded EVVEREST software. Also, the plan must deal with the new input/output system and existing panels. Representatives from the Trnava Training Center (VUJE), European Commission contractor CORYS, U.S. contractor Science Applications International Corporation, and the U.S. team will participate in reviewing and approving the plan. (Ken Erickson, PNNL, 509-372-4063)

March 8-14 -- Moscow, Russia.
Plant Safety Assessment. Technical experts from Brookhaven and Pacific Northwest national laboratories and Science Applications International Corporation will meet with a representative of the Nuclear Safety Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IBRAE) regarding IBRAE's Development of Standard Probabilistic Risk Assessment Procedure Guides, Recommendation Report. This report was developed by IBRAE as the first deliverable of a set of procedure guides for probabilistic risk analysis. Discussions also will be held with staff of the Research and Development Institute of Power Engineering (RDIPE) to review ongoing project planning and task order development for the in-depth safety assessment at Kursk NPP. (Ty Blackburn, PNNL, 509372-4092)

March 16-27 -- Zaporizhzhya NPP, Ukraine.
Training. A U.S. training specialist and personnel from Khmelnytskyy NPP, the Engineering and Technical Center for the Training of Nuclear Industry Personnel, and Zaporizhzhya NPP will continue preparation of training materials for the Chemical Operator pilot training program. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

March 23-27 -- Kalinin NPP, Russia.
Simulators. A U.S. training specialist will present a training course on plant simulator verification and validation. Staff from the Kalinin project and personnel from one or more additional NPPs will participate in the course. (Peter Kohut, BNL, 516-344-4982)

May 18-22 -- Balakovo NPP, Russia.
Simulators. Plant staff involved with Balakovo's simulator project, plus representatives from one or more additional NPPs, will attend a training course on simulator verification and validation. A U.S. training specialist will present the course. (Peter Kohut, BNL, 516-344-4982)