for the period April 19 through May 2, 1997
Prepared by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, Washington

RUSSIA

Russian Training Technology Transfer Group Plans 1998 Work. U.S. and Russian personnel associated with the Russian effort to transfer training technology met in Phoenix, Arizona, on April 23 through 29. The group discussed and assigned priorities to planned program activities, with emphasis on fiscal year 1998. Participants also toured Palo Verde nuclear power plant (NPP) and its training facilities. Both the Russian and American participants agreed upon and signed a meeting summary that identified commitments and action items. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

Gosatomnadzor Staff Attend U.S. Safety Analysis Workshop. In mid-April, ten representatives from Gosatomnadzor participated in a workshop at Oak Ridge National Laboratory that focused on safety analysis for research reactors and fuel cycle facilities. Presenters shared their experience gained in the preparation and review of safety analyses for the High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge and gaseous diffusion plants at Portsmouth, Ohio, and Paducah, Kentucky. Participants toured the High Flux Isotope Reactor and related facilities. (Ed Branagan, DOE, 301-903-6509; George Vargo, PNNL, 509-375-6836)

UKRAINE

Simulator Verification and Validation Workshop Held. During the week of April 7, staff from Khmelnytskyy and South Ukraine NPPs and the Engineering Technical Center in Kyiv participated in a workshop on the verification and validation process for nuclear power plant simulators. The workshop, presented at Brookhaven National Laboratory by U.S. specialists, covered seven major topics: experience of U.S. utilities in full-scope simulator verification and validation; verification tasks during simulator purchasing; human factors related to simulator fidelity during testing; methodology for validating simulators; scenarios for transients; evaluation of acceptance test results; and a step-by-step verification and validation procedure. The participants agreed that the workshop should be presented next at Khmelnytskyy NPP to a wider audience comprising staff from Khmelnytskyy, South Ukraine, Rivne, and Chornobyl NPPs. (Peter Kohut, BNL, 516-344-4982)

Chornobyl Staff Complete Training Course. Representatives from Chornobyl NPP participated in a 15-day training course at the General Physics facility in Aiken, South Carolina. The course presented a two-day overview of the Systematic Approach to Training and a week-long session on the fundamentals of instructor training with a discussion of developing learning materials for on-the-job training. Participants spent the final week developing instructional materials for the Control Room Reactor Operator course, which will be implemented in late 1997. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

Safety Parameter Display System Request for Proposal Issued. On April 18, the U.S. team issued a request for proposal to prospective bidders on safety parameter display systems planned for two NPPs in Ukraine. Installation of the systems--one each for Zaporizhzhya Unit 5 and Khmelnytskyy Unit 1--is planned for the spring outages of 1998. Bids must be returned by May 19. (Mike Durst, PNNL, 509-372-4968)

Startup Meeting Held for Khmelnytskyy NPP Safety Assessment. In April, U.S. team members and staff of Science Applications International Corporation met with representatives from Khmelnytskyy NPP to discuss the start of a plant-specific safety assessment. The American representatives introduced the approach and structure of U.S.-supported plant-specific safety analyses to key personnel at the plant, including the general director and the deputy chief engineer of safety.

The plant team discussed the Ukrainian requirements for completion of an in-depth safety assessment (ISA) and the Ukrainian utility industry plan to meet those requirements. The plan calls for completing an ISA for three lead plants in Ukraine and then extending the results to the remaining units. The lead unit for VVER-1000 Series 320 reactors is Zaporizhzhya Unit 5. Khmelnytskyy NPP's reactor is of the same series. Khmelnytskyy representatives expressed concern regarding the extent of applicability of the Zaporizhzhya study to Khmelnytskyy because of design differences between the two plants.

To address this concern, it was agreed that, at a minimum, a plant-specific data collection and system description activity would be initiated for Khmelnytskyy NPP so the Zaporizhzhya study results can be compared appropriately to the Khmelnytskyy plant. During the meeting, the U.S. team presented a draft technical work scope for carrying out the data collection and system description effort. Khmelnytskyy representatives are expected to respond by May 15, 1997. (Jeff Binder, 630-252-7265)

CHORNOBYL SHELTER PROJECT

Ukraine Accepts Shelter Implementation Plan. The working group for the Shelter Implementation Plan met on April 21 in Kyiv with the G-7 and on April 22 in Slavutych with the G-7 and Ukrainian government representatives. The G-7 concurred with the Shelter Implementation Plan and subsequently provided guidance to clarify a number of key issues (primarily the need for a new shelter and a reduction of the degree of stabilization). In the meetings at Slavutych, the Ukrainian government representatives accepted the Shelter Implementation Plan "in principle." The representatives provided the working group with a list of questions and requests for consideration in completing the plan.

The working group reconvened in Darmstadt, Germany, on April 24 to complete the final Shelter Implementation Plan. The group also is preparing responses to guidance provided by the U.S. Department of State for the G-7 as well as the guidance provided by the Nuclear Regulatory Administration of Ukraine.

Meetings are scheduled in Slavutych and Kyiv during the week of May 12 to review those responses and the final draft of the plan. Production and distribution of the final Shelter Implementation Plan is planned for the end of May. (Dennis Kreid, PNNL, 509-375-2170)

Progress Made on Efforts to Improve Chornobyl Shelter Safety. The neutron monitoring system being developed for use in the Chornobyl Shelter was the focus of a two-day design review at Chornobyl NPP in late April. U.S. technical specialists conducted the review in response to concerns voiced by shelter staff and scientists at the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences Interdisciplinary Scientific and Technical Center-Shelter (ISTC-Shelter). In question was the adequacy of the system to perform in the stringent environment of the shelter. Representatives from the ISTC-Shelter, the Chornobyl Shelter, and Russia's Kurchatov Institute and the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering participated in the review. The review resulted in consensus support for the adequacy of the system to assess the reactivity status of fuel and fuel-containing masses within the shelter. ISTC-Shelter researchers presented data indicating that detector placement could influence overall effectiveness. The U.S. team will perform additional calculations in conjunction with the researchers in Ukraine to finalize detector locations.

While at Chornobyl for the design review, the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering and the Kurchatov Institute submitted proposals for Russian involvement in shelter cleanup work. U.S. representatives performed initial reviews, but more information is required to support evaluations of the proposed work. (John Schmidt, PNNL, 509-372-6377)

CROSS-CUTTING ACTIVITIES

Contacts at Bratislava Workshop Support Methodology Development. During the week of April 21, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) held their second jointly sponsored workshop on the harmonization of data structures and collection techniques for probabilistic risk assessments for Soviet-designed reactors.

The workshop was convened to obtain comments and suggestions for improving a generic methodology for structuring and collecting data. The methodology is intended for use in U.S.-funded efforts involving the development of reliability databases and the collection of data for plant-specific safety analyses. The participants agreed to provide comments on the methodology and support its finalization.

The Bratislava workshop was staged in cooperation with UJD, the Nuclear Regulatory Authority of Slovakia. In addition to U.S. team members and IAEA staff, attendees included representatives from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Holland, and Spain.

The workshop provided an opportunity to establish contacts between host country personnel working on U.S.-funded safety projects and personnel from other NPPs working on similar projects funded by other sources. Those contacts may help the U.S. team to include data already collected at those plants in the generic database for reliability analysis and probabilistic risk assessment being developed for Russian and Ukrainian NPPs. (Jeff Binder, ANL, 630-252-7265; Tom Vehec, PNNL, 509-372-4072)

PLANNED ACTIVITIES

• "*" indicates the event is a new item or has been changed from the last report.
  
• "TBD" means the event date or location is to be determined.
  
• Note: in the interest of providing a timely update on the Soviet-Designed-Reactor Safety Program, no formal document review of this weekly report has been conducted by DOE or PNNL.

  *May 3-9 -- Slavutych, Ukraine.
  U.S. technical specialists will be on-site at Chornobyl NPP to continue work on Chornobyl dose reduction efforts. Specifications for the external dosimetry system, continuous air monitoring system, and filtered ventilation systems will be reviewed and approved. Planning for other tasks, including internal dosimetry support, also will be initiated. (George Vargo, PNNL, 509-375-6836)

  May 5-9 -- Energodar, Ukraine.
  Scientech staff and U.S. team members will meet with staff of the Zaporizhzhya NPP at the plant to continue planning the in-depth safety analysis project for Zaporizhzhya Unit 5. Details of the work scope for the Level 1 probabilistic risk assessment will be developed, and the work scope, organization, and schedule for the overall project will be defined. (Walt Pasedag, DOE, 301-903-3628; Christian Kot, ANL, 630-252-6151)

  *Canceled May 5-9 -- Khmelnytskyy NPP, Ukraine.
  General Physics Corporation specialists will work with staff from Khmelnytskyy NPP on the Control Room Reactor Operator training course. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

  *May 5-13 -- Idaho Falls, Idaho; Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and Washington, D.C., USA.
  Personnel from Russian research reactors will meet with U.S. team members and representatives of four American research reactors (Advanced Test Reactor, High Flux Irradiation Reactor, Experimental Breeder Reactor-II, and the research reactor at the National Institute of Standards and Technology). The meetings are intended to familiarize Russian research reactor participants with U.S. research reactor training programs and operational policies and practices. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575) (Workshop No. 97-017; Travel Coordinator Melinda Stone, PNNL, 509-375-4391)

  *May 6-9 -- Vienna, Austria.
  A member of the U.S. team will meet with representatives of IAEA to review materials in preparation for the IAEA Safety Review at Leningrad NPP. (Dennis Meyers, DOE, 301-903-1418)

  *May 7-22 -- Upton, New York; and Columbia, Maryland, USA.
  Four staff members each from Chornobyl and Novovoronezh NPPs will participate in computer hardware maintenance training. The training will focus on UNIX and C programming as well as information specific to the Silicon Graphics Inc. computers used in the plants' analytical simulators. (Peter Kohut, BNL, 516-344-4982) (Workshop No. 97-086; Travel Coordinator Gail Flora, PNNL, 509-375-6554)

  *May 11-17 -- St. Petersburg, Russia.
  The IAEA will perform its safety review of Leningrad NPP. A technical lead from the U.S. team will participate. (Dennis Meyers, DOE, 301-903-1418)

  May 11-17 -- Energodar, Ukraine.
  Initial training and planning meetings will be held at Zaporizhzhya NPP for the Ukraine configuration management project. A needs assessment for the project also will be conducted. A U.S. specialist and a Stone & Webster Engineering Company representative will participate. (Dennis Meyers, DOE, 301-903-1418)

  *May 11-16 -- Moscow, Russia.
  U.S. technical specialists will meet with representatives of ENTEK, the Russian RBMK design organization. They will discuss a structural mechanics analysis of single and multiple pressure tube failure for the Leningrad NPP probabilistic and deterministic safety assessments. (Walt Pasedag, DOE, 903-301-3628)

  May 12-23 -- Kalinin NPP, Russia.
  General Physics Corporation specialists will work with Kalinin NPP training staff to develop a training program on mechanical maintenance as part of the training technology transfer program. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

  May 12-23 -- Novovoronezh Training Center, Russia.
  Sonalysts, Inc., experts will work with Novovoronezh Training Center staff to develop a training program for shift supervisors as part of the training technology transfer program. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

  May 12-23 -- Novovoronezh NPP, Russia.
  Sonalysts, Inc., will work with Novovoronezh NPP training staff to develop a training program for shift supervisors as part of the training technology transfer program. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

  * Canceled May 12-23 -- Kozloduy NPP, Bulgaria.
  Staff of General Physics Corporation and Sonalysts, Inc. will work with training staff from the Kozloduy NPP to continue development of the Control Room Reactor Operator and Mechanical Maintenance training courses. During the second week of the visit, Kozloduy training staff will implement the pilot Mechanical Maintenance training course. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

  * Canceled May 13-20 -- Kyiv and Slavutych, Ukraine.
  A U.S. team member will meet with Chornobyl NPP management to coordinate efforts related to the heat plant and deactivation, decontamination, and decommissioning of the Chornobyl plant. (Riaz Awan, DOE, 301-903-2687)

  *May 13-23 -- Kyiv and Slavutych, Ukraine; Darmstadt, Germany.
  U.S. members of the International Chornobyl Shelter team will complete and distribute the Shelter Implementation Plan. (Dan Giessing, DOE, 301-903-2852)

  May 14-24 -- Charlotte, North Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; and Fulton, Missouri, USA.
  Representatives of various agencies and NPPs in Ukraine will attend meetings on event analysis reporting and lessons learned. U.S. participants hosting the meetings include Duke Power Company, the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, and Calloway NPP. (Donnie Draper, PNNL, 509-372-4079) (Workshop No. 97-075; Travel Coordinator Gail Flora, PNNL, 509-375-6554)

  *May 14-21 -- Moscow, Russia.
  U.S. experts will meet with representatives from Russian organizations involved with experimental databases and analyses of Soviet-designed reactors to plan details of the code assessment effort for VVER and RBMK reactors. Reactor designers and representatives of research institutes, Gosatomnadzor, Rosenergoatom, and the Russian Academy of Sciences Nuclear Safety Institute will attend. The May 14-16 meeting will focus on VVERs and will be coordinated with a meeting of the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on May 14-15. The meeting on May 19-21 will focus on RBMKs, and a joint meeting will be held on May 17 to discuss project guidelines. The Russian International Nuclear Safety Center will host the May 16-21 meetings. (Jordi Roglans, ANL, 630-252-3283)

  *May 17-22 -- Kyiv, Ukraine.
  Members of the U.S. team will meet with representatives of Derzhkomatom to coordinate the project plan for U.S. support of the Ukraine Quality Assurance Working Group. The group, which comprises representatives from each of the NPP sites in Ukraine plus Derzhkomatom and the Main State Inspectorate, was chartered to improve the safety of nuclear power operations through application of quality assurance practices at the reactor sites. (Dennis Meyers, DOE, 301-903-1418)

  *May 17-24 --Konstantinovka and Kyiv, Ukraine.
  A technical specialist from the U.S. team will meet with staff of the Metals Laboratory at South Ukraine NPP. Discussions will cover nondestructive evaluation training and certification, as well as the erosion-corrosion program, at the plant. The U.S. specialist then will meet with Energoatom representatives in Kyiv to discuss specific maintenance and nondestructive evaluation training needs for Ukraine's NPPs. (Grigory Trosman, DOE, 301-903-3581)

  *May 17-24 -- Kyiv and Slavutych, Ukraine.
  U.S. experts in robotics and remote systems technology will meet with representatives of the Chornobyl Shelter operations staff, the Chornobyl Center, and Ukrainian scientific institutes involved in developing and applying that technology. Working with their counterparts in Ukraine, the team will assess technology development and application efforts needed to support shelter-related stabilization and safety improvement work. (Norman Fletcher, DOE, 301-903-3275)

  May 18-23 -- Voronezh, Russia.
  A U.S. expert and a representative of Parsons Power, Inc., will participate in meetings at Novovoronezh NPP related to the Russian configuration management project. They will provide initial training, refine the project plan, and conduct a needs assessment for the project. (Dennis Meyers, DOE, 301-903-1418)

  *Date Changed to May 19-30 -- Smolensk Training Center, Russia.
  Sonalysts, Inc. staff will work with Smolensk Training Center staff to develop a training program on mechanical maintenance as part of the training technology transfer program. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

  *May 19-June 30 -- Kyiv and Slavutych, Ukraine.
  A nuclear safety expert from the U.S. team will work with representatives of Chornobyl Shelter organizations. They will develop strategies for coordinating and implementing projects under way and proposed for the Chornobyl Shelter. (Dan Giessing, DOE, 301-903-2852)

  *May 20-21 -- Washington, D.C., USA.
  The steering committee for VVER reactor safety assessments in Ukraine will meet to review the status of ongoing projects and plans for future safety assessments. Representatives of South Ukraine, Zaporizhzhya, Khmelnytskyy, and Rivne NPPs, the Ukraine nuclear industry, and the U.S. team will participate. (Walt Pasedag, DOE, 903-301-3628; Jeff Binder, ANL, 630-252-7265)

  * Date Changed to May 22-23 -- Moscow, Russia.
  U.S. technical specialists and personnel from Novovoronezh NPP, Atomenergoproekt, OKB Gidropress, and the Kurchatov Institute will hold the initial team meeting for the Novovoronezh Units 3 and 4 in-depth safety analysis project. Topics to be discussed include collection of plant-specific data to support the analyses, development of the system description documentation, and generation of the Novovoronezh project guidelines. In addition, planning will be finalized for a training workshop on probabilistic risk assessment to be held in Reston, Virginia. (Jordi Roglans, ANL, 630-252-3283) (Workshop No. 97-107; Travel Coordinator Gail Flora, PNNL, 509-375-6554)

  *May 22-24 -- Slavutych, Ukraine.
  Representatives of Chornobyl NPP and a U.S. technical lead will meet to coordinate arrangements for two future workshops on the application of quality assurance in maintenance and repair activities at the Chornobyl plant. (Dennis Meyers, DOE, 301-903-1418)

  *May 22-24 -- Vilnius, Lithuania.
  Members of the U.S. team will conduct final negotiations and sign a contract with the vendor for hardware and software needed to implement the reliability maintenance management system/configuration management process at Ignalina NPP. (Dennis Meyers, DOE, 301-903-1418)

  *May 25-26 -- Grenoble, France.
  Members of the U.S. team and contractor Science Applications International Corporation will meet with representatives of CORYS, a French contractor. They will tour CORYS facilities and evaluate the capabilities of the CORYS-developed EVVEREST software for use on multi-function simulators being supplied to host countries. (John Yoder, DOE, 301-903-5650)

  *May 25-31 -- Prague, Czech Republic.
  U.S. technical specialists will meet with representatives of scientific institutes Rez and VUJE, the Ukraine State Scientific and Technical Center, and Rivne and Kozloduy NPPs. Participants will discuss the possibility of Rez and VUJE performing technical basis calculations for emergency operating instructions for VVER reactors. (Dennis Meyers, DOE, 301-903-1418) (Workshop No. 97-100; Travel Coordinator Gail Flora, PNNL, 509-375-6554)

  *May 26-30 -- Slavutych, Ukraine.
  Representatives of the U.S. team and contractor Superior Machine and Valve will present two workshops on maintenance technology to Chornobyl NPP staff. Operation of the U.S.-provided alignment computers and valve repair equipment will be covered. (Francis Buck, PNNL, 509-372-4102)

  May 26-June 6 -- Smolensk NPP, Russia.
  Sonalysts, Inc. staff will work with Smolensk NPP staff to develop a training program on mechanical maintenance as part of the training technology transfer program. This visit is the second of three to Smolensk NPP as part of the development of this training course. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

  *May 27-31 -- Trnava, Slovakia.
  U.S. team members, contractors Science Applications International Corporation and CORYS, and representatives of VUJE will meet to determine final project plans for completing the last stages of the V2 full-scope simulator upgrade. They also will finalize a memorandum of understanding among the parties involved in the simulator upgrade work. (John Yoder, DOE, 301-903-5650)

  *May 30-June 20 -- Columbia, Maryland, USA.
  Staff members of Chornobyl and Novovoronezh NPPs will receive training on software maintenance for simulators. The workshop will feature UNIX and C, as well as simulator system programming. GSE Power Systems, Inc., will provide the training. (Peter Kohut, BNL, 516-344-4982) (Workshop No. 97-087; Travel Coordinator Gail Flora, PNNL, 509-375-6554)

  June 23-27 -- Trnava, Slovakia.
  A training course on the PACER and NEPTUNE codes will be presented by technical staff from Argonne National Laboratory. The training course is the final activity in the transfer of the codes and related documentation to the Slovakians. PACER and NEPTUNE are state-of-the-art codes for calculating containment loads from pipe-break loading and containment structural response/ultimate strength, respectively. (Nicholas Grossman, DOE, 301-903-3299)

  *June 30-July 10 -- Columbia, Maryland, USA.
  Members of training staff at Chornobyl and Novovoronezh NPPs will participate in training sessions for simulator instructors. GSE Power Systems, Inc., will provide the training. (Peter Kohut, BNL, 516-344-4982) (Workshop No. 97-089; Travel Coordinator Gail Flora, PNNL, 509-375-6554)