for the period May 3 through May 16, 1997
Prepared by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, Washington

RUSSIA

Russian Research Reactor Staff Visit U.S. Facilities. Personnel from Russian research reactors spent seven days in early May touring and meeting with staff of U.S. research reactors. The Russian representatives visited four American facilities: the Advanced Test Reactor and Experimental Breeder Reactor-II at Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory; the High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory; and the National Institute of Standards and Technology research reactor. The visit was part of the U.S. effort to transfer training technology. The tours helped familiarize the Russian participants with U.S. research reactor training programs and operational policies and practices. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575).

IBRAE Reviewers Get First-Hand Look at Kola Nuclear Power Plant. During the week of May 12, representatives of Kola nuclear power plant (NPP) took a group of staff from the Nuclear Safety Institute (IBRAE) of the Russian Academy of Sciences on a plant walkthrough. The IBRAE staff are performing an independent peer review of the probabilistic risk assessment conducted as part of the Kola in-depth safety analysis (KOLISA) project. The IBRAE contingent?s technical questions, prepared in advance of the walkthrough, provided the basis for informative discussions with Kola staff. (Ted Ginsberg, BNL, 516-344-2620).

Kola In-Depth Safety Assessment Team Plans Next Efforts. The KOLISA project team met at the offices of Science Applications International Corporation in Reston, Virginia, May 5 through 9. The main purpose of the meeting was to plan work related to the deterministic safety analysis of Kola Units 1 and 2. The team reviewed guidance for this work from Gosatomnadzor and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to satisfy requirements for funding safety improvements at the plant. The guidance was factored into the work plan for the deterministic analysis. The team held detailed discussions on content of the task orders to develop the work plan, develop the guidelines for the work, and begin preparing the input for the computer codes to be used. Independent peer review of the deterministic analysis also was discussed. The team decided to continue its arrangement with IBRAE, established earlier for the KOLISA probabilistic risk assessment, to perform the peer review for the deterministic analysis. The few issues outstanding on the KOLISA project guidelines were addressed; those guidelines will be finalized shortly. (Philip Pizzica, ANL, 630-252-4847)

UKRAINE

Chornobyl Specialists in Training for Work with Simulators. During the week of May 5, four computer hardware specialists from Chornobyl NPP participated in preparatory courses in UNIX and C programming in Upton, New York. The training familiarized the specialists with the operating system used on the Silicon Graphics Inc. computer for the Chornobyl Unit 3 analytical simulator. The specialists then traveled to Columbia, Maryland, for two more weeks of related training at GSE Power Systems, Inc. (Peter Kohut, BNL, 516-344-4982).

Work Begins on Management Plan for Spent Fuel in Ukraine. Technical specialists from the Chornobyl Center for Nuclear Safety, Radioactive Waste and Radioecology met in Richland, Washington, with U.S. team members April 30 through May 5 to begin work on a plan for managing spent nuclear fuel in Ukraine. The effort will assess the needs for interim storage or disposal of spent fuel, review the regulatory basis for managing the spent fuel, and assess the available spent fuel management options. The Chornobyl Center will lead the assessment effort. At the early May meeting, participants established the structure of a database for maintaining information collected on Ukraine?s spent fuel inventory. Chornobyl Center specialists will collect and evaluate the data to perform the actual assessment of spent fuel management options. (Mike McKinnon, PNNL, 509-372-4198)

CHORNOBYL SHELTER PROJECT

Shelter Implementation Plan Nearing Finalization. On May 6, the revised Shelter Implementation Plan (SIP) was received, printed, and distributed to the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of State for review. This revision incorporates responses to comments received from the G-7 and the government of Ukraine. Additional comments are requested by May 17 to ensure timely completion of the final implementation plan. During the week of May 12, a team consisting of the SIP project coordinators reviewed the revision with Chornobyl NPP and the Nuclear Regulatory Administration in Ukraine. The team then will reconvene in Darmstadt, Germany, from May 17 through 23 to complete the final Shelter Implementation Plan. (Dennis Kreid, PNNL, 509-375-2170)

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

Lithuania: Audit Gives Go-Ahead to Module Manufacturer. Staff of Ignalina NPP trained earlier this year in quality assurance auditing and performed the plant?s first formal audit during the week of May 5. The object of the audit was the facilities of Scientech NUS, who will manufacture prototype instrumentation and control modules for Ignalina NPP. The Scientech facility passed the audit. A meeting to review the design of the modules also was held that week. Except for a few details that must be reviewed by the plant, Scientech NUS has completed the design. Scientech next will develop engineering mockups of the design. During the week of May 12, Scientech provided quality assurance training to the Lithuanian company EMC. After Scientech manufactures the first 100 modules, EMC will manufacture the next 200 modules. (Ron Wright, PNNL, 509-372-4076)

Lithuania: Ignalina Managers Participate in Safety Culture Workshop. During the week of May 5, a safety culture workshop was conducted in Lithuania. The workshop, co-sponsored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the U.S. Department of Energy, was conducted in cooperation with the Lithuanian Ministry of Economy, Lithuanian Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (Vatesi), Kaunas Technical University, and Lithuanian Energy Institute. This workshop, a follow-on to an October 1996 IAEA workshop in Sweden, was conducted largely in response to plant-specific safety issues raised by the Ignalina Safety Panel in a recent report.

Attendees included approximately 30 senior personnel from Ignalina NPP, as well as about 25 high-level representatives of various branches of the Lithuanian government. IAEA also sponsored attendance of 7 participants from Russia and Ukraine, primarily from RBMK NPPs. Work sessions were conducted in which the participants addressed specific safety culture issues. Experts in nuclear safety from Sweden, Switzerland, IAEA, and the United States led the sessions.

During the workshop, all attendees stressed the importance of safety culture in NPP operation. Lithuanian authorities made commitments to improve the level of safety culture at Ignalina NPP. They pledged to assign priority to safety above all other considerations (including production and cost) and to conduct workshops for Ignalina NPP department staff. (Jan van Erp, ANL, 630-252-3381)

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 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)

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)

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 26-June 20 -- Upton, New York, and Columbia, Maryland, USA.
Four staff members each from Chornobyl and Novovoronezh NPPs will participate in computer software training. The training will focus on UNIX, C, and system executive programming. Information specific to the Silicon Graphics Inc. computers used in the plants? analytical simulators also will be presented. (Peter Kohut, BNL, 516-344-4982) (Workshop No. 97-087; Travel Coordinator Gail Flora, PNNL, 509-375-6554)

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 28-30 -- Kursk, Russia.
Representatives of the U.S. team and contractors Parsons Power Group, Inc., and Westinghouse Electric Corporation will meet with Kursk NPP management to discuss installation of the Kursk Unit 2 safety parameter display system. RDIPE representatives also will attend. Participants will determine plans for final connection and testing. The U.S. team also will review recently completed or near-complete safety upgrade efforts at the plant. (Norman Fletcher, DOE, 301-903-3275)

*June 1-3 -- Slavutych, Ukraine.
U.S. technical specialists and contractor Parsons Power Group, Inc., will meet with Chornobyl NPP management to discuss installation of the Chornobyl safety parameter display system. Participants will determine plans for final connection and testing. (Norman Fletcher, DOE, 301-903-3275)

*June 2-6 -- Vienna, Austria.
Representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the U.S. team will meet to coordinate technology transfer activities planned for Armenia nuclear power station. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

*June 2-6 -- Columbia, Maryland, USA.
Review meetings are planned for the Chornobyl and Novovoronezh analytical simulator efforts. Staff from Chornobyl and Novovoronezh NPPs, GSE Power Systems, Inc., and the U.S. team will participate in the review. (Peter Kohut, BNL, 516-344-4982)

*June 2-7 -- Kyiv, Ukraine.
U.S. team members will meet with Ukraine representatives to discuss establishing a reliability database in Ukraine that will be available to all NPPs. Such a database can help in determining the time between component replacement and overhauls, planning periodic testing of equipment, determining the cause of component failure, and selecting spare parts. In addition, a nationally available reliability database also provides a method to share lessons learned among plants that use similar equipment and furnishes essential input to probabilistic risk assessments. (Grigory Trosman, DOE, 301-903-3581)

*June 2-8 -- Stockholm, Sweden.
The working group of the Leningrad NPP probabilistic safety assessment will hold a series of discussions covering accident sequence analysis, proposed scope of the in-depth safety assessment for Leningrad NPP, and reliability data collection. Representatives of ENTEK, Swedish International Programs, AEA-Technologies, Leningrad NPP, and the U.S. team will participate. (Walt Pasedag, DOE, 301-903-3628) In addition, participants from the Ignalina NPP emergency operating instruction effort will conduct a general strategy meeting to assess project status and future needs and to coordinate development work with the Lithuanian Energy Institute and Vatesi. (Dennis Meyers, DOE, 301-903-1418)

*June 8-10 -- St. Petersburg, Russia.
U.S. technical leads will establish a task order for the reliability data collection effort at Leningrad NPP. They also will meet with Leningrad management to initiate work on the task. (Walt Pasedag, DOE, 301-903-3628)

*June 10-12 -- Moscow, Russia.
Technical leads from the U.S. team will meet with representatives of ENTEK to discuss remaining issues associated with completion of analyses for RBMK reactor emergency operating instructions. They also will discuss the status of ENTEK?s analysis support to the Leningrad probabilistic safety assessment. (Bob Moffitt, PNNL, 509-372-4108)

*June 16-20 -- Armenia Nuclear Power Station, Armenia.
U.S. technical leads will meet with representatives of Armenia nuclear power station to take next steps on current projects and discuss potential new projects. Key activities include system design, contracting, and equipment purchasing. (Dennis Meyers, DOE, 301-903-1418)

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)