for the period June 28 through July 11, 1997
Prepared by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, Washington

CHORNOBYL SHELTER PROJECT

Bid Specifications Being Prepared for Chornobyl Shelter Early Biddable Projects. The team developing bid specifications for the Chornobyl Shelter early biddable projects (EBPs) met in Darmstadt, Germany, during the week of June 23. Specifications Team members include U.S. and European Commission (EC) experts plus a participant from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The team finalized a work plan, established assignments, developed templates for the EBP bid specification packages, and prepared strawman drafts of packages that served as points for focussing discussion. The team members now are working at their home sites, but in close coordination, to prepare the bid specification packages for the first-phase projects--the tasks of highest priority relative to the overall schedule. Individual members are planning to meet again as a team on July 21 through 25 in Darmstadt to review progress at that point on those first-phase tasks. The team also will begin developing the bid specification packages for the second-phase projects. The EBP specification packages are scheduled to be completed by the end of September 1997.

The Specifications Team has been asked to expand its support to the EBRD to complete the entire slate of documentation for tendering of the early biddable projects. The U.S. and EC participants have agreed to do this and have started negotiating the necessary contracts. (Dennis Kreid, PNNL, 509-375-2170)

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

Bulgaria: Training Methodology Seminar Held for Kozloduy Senior Managers. During the week of June 23, a seminar on the Systematic Approach to Training (SAT) methodology was conducted for senior management at Kozloduy nuclear power plant (NPP). The seminar was held to enhance plant management understanding of the SAT methodology. Seminar leaders discussed the benefits of SAT, described the roles and responsibilities of management in developing and implementing training programs, and reviewed lessons learned in implementing SAT in the United States, Russia (Balakovo NPP), and Ukraine (Khmelnytskyy NPP). The seminar was well attended by Kozloduy senior management and will enhance support of the ongoing U.S./Bulgarian cooperative project to transfer SAT methods and develop training programs at the Kozloduy plant. All translated seminar materials (viewgraphs, student workbooks, and instructor lesson plans) were provided to the Kozloduy training department for future use in training other plant personnel on the SAT methodology. (John Yoder, DOE, 301-903-5650)

Bulgaria: Scientists Training on RELAP5 for Bulgarian VVER Plants. A fourth basic training course on the RELAP5 code began on June 26. Students in this course are eight scientists from Bulgaria--six from Kozloduy NPP and two from the Institute for Nuclear Reactors and Nuclear Energy in Sofia. Technical experts from two national laboratories are presenting the course in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The training provides lectures introducing the RELAP5 code and hands-on workshop exercises illustrating use of the code for performing thermal-hydraulic analyses of VVER reactors. To meet the specific needs of the Bulgarian students, the last week of the course will be focused on modeling Kozloduy's VVER-1000 reactors. This fourth session of the RELAP5 basic training will end on July 23. (Don Fletcher, INEEL, 208-526-7652; Ross Jensen, ANL, 208-533-7911)

Slovakia: Transfer of Reactor Confinement Analysis Codes Completed. During the week of June 23, Slovakian participants received hands-on training in the use of two computer codes, PACER and NEPTUNE, for performing confinement analyses of their Soviet-designed reactors. PACER calculates short-term confinement loads for postulated coolant system failures. NEPTUNE is a three-dimensional code for analyzing structural response. Three staff members of Argonne National Laboratory conducted the course in Trnava for representatives of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority and the Slovakian Academy of Science. The training course was the final activity in this cooperative project to transfer confinement analysis capability to Slovakia. (Nick Grossman, DOE, 301-903-3299)

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.

*July 11-15 -- Budapest, Hungary.
An expert from Scientech will conduct a working meeting with staff from the Institute for Electric Power Research (VEIKI) in the area of human factors training and support. This visit to the institute is the first of four that will occur as part of the overall effort. (Bob Fitzpatrick, BNL, 516-344-7204)

*July 12-19 -- Kyiv and Slavutych, Ukraine.
A delegation from the U.S. team will meet with representatives of the Chornobyl Center/Slavutych Laboratory. They will review the status of ongoing safety projects at the Chornobyl Shelter. The delegates also will participate in an international meeting intended to increase worldwide visibility of the Chornobyl Center/Slavutych Laboratory. (Dan Giessing, DOE, 301-903-2852)

July 12-18 -- Moscow and Desnogorsk, Russia.
U.S. technical experts will gather data for the Russian circuit breaker upgrade project at Smolensk NPP. Participants will include Rosenergoatom, Bechtel National, Inc., and the U.S. team. Data collected during the site visit will be analyzed later to define specific needs for project management, engineering, and equipment to satisfy project requirements. (Norman Fletcher, DOE, 301-903-3275)

July 13-17 -- Moscow, Russia.
Representatives of Rosenergoatom, Atomenergoproekt, VNIIAES, and Smolensk NPP will meet with U.S. team members to kick off the safe shutdown study planned for Smolensk NPP. Topics for discussion include project schedule, contracts, U.S. support, reports, and other issues related to the study. The effort at Smolensk is a pilot fire hazards analysis for all Russian plants with RBMK reactors. (Chuck Ramsey, DOE, 301-903-5999)

July 14-18 -- Neteshin, Ukraine.
U.S. specialists from Brookhaven National Laboratory and General Physics will present a one-week training course at the Khmelnytskyy NPP on verification and validation procedures for nuclear power plant simulators. Staff from Khmelnytskyy South Ukraine, and Chornobyl NPPs and the Engineering Technical Center in Kyiv have been invited to attend. (Peter Kohut, BNL, 516-344-4982)

July 16-25 -- Helsinki, Finland; St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia.
Representatives of the U.S. team will establish the scope of work to be conducted by Gosatomnadzor in support of an independent review of the Leningrad NPP probabilistic and deterministic safety assessment. They also will establish and sign a contract for the statement of work for collecting Leningrad NPP reliability data as well as revise the scope of work for the Leningrad deterministic safety analysis under way by ENTEK. (Walt Pasedag, DOE, 301-903-3628)

July 19-23 -- Moscow, Russia.
A delegation from the U.S. team will meet with staff of the Moscow Adjunct Office and Russian counterparts to review issues and progress related to Russian reactor safety initiatives. (Dan Giessing, DOE, 301-903-2852)

July 21-24 -- Darmstadt, Germany.
Representatives of Ukraine, the European Commission, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the United States team will participate in a workshop for the specifications team of the early biddable projects for the Chornobyl Shelter. The participants will review the developmental status of bid packages for the early biddable projects. (Dennis Kreid, PNNL, 509-375-2170)

July 21-25 -- Columbia, Maryland, USA.
Review meetings are planned for the Novovoronezh, Kola, Kalinin, and South Ukraine simulator projects. Staff from the Russian and Ukrainian NPPs, GSE Systems, Inc., VNIIAES/GET, and the U.S. team will participate in the reviews. (Peter Kohut, BNL, 516-344-4982)

July 22-23 -- Novovoronezh NPP, Russia.
The first meeting of the Steering Committee for the Novovoronezh Units 3 and 4 in-depth safety assessment will be held. The second project team meeting also will be conducted at the plant in coordination with the Steering Committee meeting. (Jordi Roglans, ANL, 630-252-3283)

July 22-26 -- Slavutych, Ukraine.
The former Finnish Hospital in Slavutych, Ukraine, is being refurbished to provide offices, conference room space, and training facilities for the Chornobyl Center/Slavutych Laboratory. A member of the U.S. team will meet with staff of the Chornobyl Center/Slavutych Laboratory and the architect/engineer for the refurbishment to review project progress. (Dan Giessing, DOE, 301-903-2852)

*July 22-23 -- Slavutych, Ukraine.
The U.S. technical lead for the Chornobyl NPP deactivation, decontamination, and decommissioning (DD&D) effort will meet with Chornobyl staff regarding priorities for new tasks in the DD&D project. (Riaz Awan, DOE, 301-903-2687)

*July 24-27 -- Brussels, Belgium.
Representatives of U.S. and European Commission efforts for Chornobyl NPP DD&D will meet to coordinate their respective projects. They also will plan the agenda for the first DD&D technical working group meeting to be held in August. (Riaz Awan, DOE, 301-903-2687)

July 26-August 6 -- Vienna, Austria; Trnava, Slovakia, OR Prague, Czech Republic.
Representatives from Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Hungary , Slovakia, and the Czech Republic will meet with U.S. technical team leaders at International Atomic Energy Agency facilities. They will finalize the guideline for developing the reliability databases for Russian and Ukrainian reactor components. The U.S. representatives also will travel to either Trnava or Prague for initial meetings with representatives of Dukovany NPP and the UJV (Czech Republic regulator) regarding a risk advisory system project at Dukovany. Project scope and methodology will be defined. (Grigory Trosman, DOE, 301-903-3581)

* July 26-August 9 -- Aiken, South Carolina, USA.
Representatives from Slovakia's Nuclear Power Research Institute in Trnava will attend an instructor training workshop. General Physics Corporation will conduct the training. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575) (Workshop No. 97-120; Travel Coordinator Gail Flora, PNNL, 509-375-6554)

July 29 -- Moscow, Russia.
Staff of Burns & Roe and Atomenergoproekt will present results of the battery upgrade projects at Kola and Kursk NPPs. Representatives of U.S. battery manufacturing firms will meet with Russian battery manufacturers to discuss possible joint ventures. (Ron Wright, PNNL, 509-372-4076) (Workshop No. 97-127; Travel Coordinator Gail Flora, PNNL, 509-375-6554)

* August 12-16 -- Slavutych, Ukraine.
The technical working group for the Chornobyl DD&D effort will hold its first meeting. (Riaz Awan, DOE, 301-903-2687)

* August 17-23 -- Kyiv, Ukraine.
Technical staff from the U.S. team and Scientech will coordinate the joint project work plan for U.S. support of the Ukraine quality assurance working group. That working group was chartered to improve reactor safety in Ukraine by applying modern quality assurance practices. (Dennis Meyers, DOE, 301-903-1418)

* August 25-September 4 -- Moscow, Russia.
Nuclear safety inspectors from Gosatomnadzor will attend a criticality safety training course. Staff of the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education will present the course at Gosatomnadzor headquarters. (Ed Branagan, Jr., DOE, 301-903-6509; George Vargo, PNNL, 509-375-6836)

September 1-12 -- Chornobyl NPP, Ukraine.
General Physics Corporation staff will work with training staff from Chornobyl NPP to continue development work on the Control Room Reactor Operator training course. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

September 27-October 3 -- Helsinki, Finland.
The Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) will hold its second meeting for simulator and plant analyzer specialists. Participants, limited to specialists nominated by delegates to the CSNI, will exchange information and experiences and discuss the future of simulators and plant analyzers. (John Yoder, DOE, 301-903-5650)