October 18, 1996
Prepared by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington

RUSSIA

Balakovo Trainers Develop Instructional Materials. From September 30 through October 11, representatives from Balakovo nuclear power plant (NPP) participated in a workshop at Sonalysts, Inc., in Connecticut. The work was focused on development of instructional materials for the Instrumentation and Control Operations Training curriculum. Balakovo representatives also received additional training in the systematic approach to training and instructor skills. The Russian contingent toured the Millstone Training Center and NPP and held technical discussions with their American counterparts in the Millstone training department. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

Training Needs Assessment Conducted at Smolensk Training Center and NPP. A team representing the United States, Rosenergoatom, VNIIAES, the Novovoronezh Training Center, and Balakovo NPP visited the Smolensk Training Center and Smolensk NPP from October 7 through 11 to assess needs for training technology. Current training practices, resources, and facilities at the two sites were reviewed. The results of the needs assessment will be presented in a report after all sites have been visited. (See Planned Activities for a complete schedule of needs assessment visits.) (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

UKRAINE

Engineering Training Center Receives Hardware, Software. The first shipment of U.S.-supplied hardware and software to the Engineering Technology Center in Kyiv was released to center staff by Ukrainian Customs. S3 Technologies subsequently installed the computer system at the center. The computer equipment tests and software checks were completed; both the center and S3 Technologies representatives signed the Acceptance Test document. Center staff will use the equipment in developing the full-scope simulators for South Ukraine Unit 1 and Rivne Unit 3. (Ken Erickson, PNNL, 372-4063; Peter Kohut, BNL, 516-344-4982)

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

Bulgaria: Kozloduy Instructors Receive Training. During the week of October 7 through 11, General Physics Corporation trained 17 staff members of the Kozloduy Training Center in classroom instructor skills. The training session included a review of techniques used in the systematic approach to training, classroom presentation strategies and skills, and use of exercises and demonstrations. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

CROSS-CUTTING ACTIVITIES

Draft Report Assigns Priorities to Proposed Upgrades for RBMK Reactors. The Russian Academy of Sciences Nuclear Safety Institute (IBRAE) submitted its draft report, Prioritization of Proposed RBMK Safety Upgrades, to U.S. program staff this week. Initial reviews indicate that additional work is needed to finalize the document. A review meeting with IBRAE representatives will be scheduled in late October to discuss the draft report and to reach agreement on scope for the final deliverable. (Gary Smith, PNNL, 509-375-4482)

Contract Awards Announced. Labor hour indefinite quantity contracts have been issued to both Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and Scientech, Inc., for work on the U.S. program's in-depth safety analysis projects. SAIC and Scientech will provide project management and in-country training and mentoring support to the host countries. (Doug Dahl, PNNL, 509-375-6855; Gary Smith, PNNL, 509-375-4482)

PLANNED ACTIVITIES

"*" indicates the event is a new item or has been changed from the last report.

*October 19-30 -- Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia.
Members of the RBMK safety parameter display system project team (DOE, Parsons Power Group, Inc., and Westinghouse Electric Corporation) will hold a series of meetings with representatives from three Russian nuclear power plants (Smolensk, Leningrad, and Kursk), Rosenergoatom, Gozatomnadzor, and the Research and Development Institute of Power Engineering to discuss administrative and technical issues related to the project. Conformed specifications also will be developed for the Smolensk Unit 3 and Leningrad Unit 3 safety parameter display systems. (Norman Fletcher, DOE, 301-903-3275)

October 19-25 -- Moscow and Novovoronezh, Russia.
A U.S. project coordinator will participate in discussions with representatives from REA and Novovoronezh NPP regarding the startup of that plant's Unit 3 plant safety evaluation. (Walt Pasedag, DOE, 301-903-0234)

October 19-27 -- Kyiv and Slavutych, Ukraine.
U.S. technical experts will complete the installation of the integrated computer and satellite system for the Chornobyl Center for Nuclear Safety, Radioactive Waste, and Radioecology. (Dan Giessing, DOE, 301-903-2852)

October 21 -- Helsinki, Finland.
A KOLISA project status review will be presented to the project steering committee. The steering committee consists of the Kola plant manager, the DOE program manager, and a technical consultant from IVO International, Finland. Project participants will discuss comments on the IBRAE peer review plan. (Jeff Binder, ANL, 630-252-7265)

October 21-24 -- Moscow, Russia.
Representatives from GAN will attend a workshop on event reporting and analysis for research reactors and fuel cycle facilities. (George Sherwood, DOE, 301-903-4162, or George Vargo, PNNL, 509-375-6836)

*October 21-25 -- Zaporizhzhya NPP, Ukraine.
A team from Sonalysts, Inc. and Balakovo NPP will present a simulator instructor training course for simulator instructors from Kozloduy Training Center. The simulator at Zaporizhzhya NPP will be used to support the training. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

October 21-25 -- Columbia, Maryland, USA.
Staff representing the South Ukraine and Rivne NPPs and S3 Technologies will meet with U.S. program staff to discuss contractual arrangements for the full-scope simulator projects at South Ukraine Unit 1 and Rivne Unit 3. (Peter Kohut, BNL, 516-344-4982)

October 21-25 -- Kozloduy NPP, Bulgaria.
The project team for developing and implementing management and operational controls procedures will meet. The team will conduct technical reviews of draft procedures and planned steps to complete implementation of the procedures at pilot plants in countries with Soviet-designed NPPs. Attendees include representatives from Armenia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine, and the United States. The U.S. representatives include staff from the Brunswick NPP, INPO, and DOE. (Dennis Meyers, DOE, 301-903-1418)

October 21-25 -- Novovoronezh NPP, Russia.
Russian participants will accompany U.S. personnel on this site visit that is part of the project involved with transferring training technology. (John Yoder, DOE, 301-903-5650)

October 23-26 -- Genoa, Italy.
U.S. program staff and technical specialists for the Slovakian Nuclear Power Research Institute will attend the 8th European Simulation Symposium. There they jointly will present a paper describing the details and applications of the V1 simulator upgrade project. (Bill Shier, BNL, 516-344-2385)

October 26-November 2 -- Trnava, Slovakia.
The validation program for the V1 simulator upgrade will be performed jointly by U.S. program team members and Slovakian technical staff. Completion of this validation program is part of the preparation for transferring the upgraded simulator to the Slovakian training specialists. (Bill Shier, BNL, 516-344-2385)

October 26-November 2 -- Prague, Czech Republic.
A probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) workshop will be cosponsored with the IAEA at the Czech Republic's Nuclear Research Institute. A U.S. team member will coordinate and participate in the workshop, which is being held to resolve discrepancies in modeling assumptions and databases among the different PRAs of VVER-440 reactors. Safety analysis specialists from Russian, Ukrainian, and CEEC power plants, and technical organizations will address modeling assump- tions, initiating events, and component reliability data, with the goal of agreeing on consistent assumptions. Participation of a limited number of Western European and U.S. experts also is expected. (Jeff Binder, ANL, 630-252-7265)

October 28-November 1 -- Moscow, Russia.
Representatives from GAN will attend a followup workshop on safety analysis for research reactors and fuel cycle facilities. (Ed Branagan, DOE, 301-903-6509)

October 28-November 1 -- Moscow, Russia.
A course on the systematic approach to training will be given in Moscow for participants of the training technology transfer program. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

*November 1-8 -- Stockholm, Sweden; St. Petersburg, Russia.
Program staff will participate in the first of a series of probabilistic safety assessment workshops conducted by the Swedish International Projects Office in Stockholm. They then will travel to St. Petersburg to assist in the purchase of equipment for the project office of the Leningrad NPP probabilistic and deterministic safety analysis. (Walt Pasedag, DOE, 301-903-0234)

November 4-8 -- Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA.
A VVER regulator EOI workshop will be held at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Technical Training Center. Representatives from Russian, Ukrainian, and CEEC regulatory agencies, with primary responsibilities for reviewing and approving VVER EOIs, will attend. They will observe, learn, and discuss regulator involvement with EOIs associated with the VVER reactors. Workshop objectives are to

• educate/familiarize regulators on symptom-based EOI concepts
• provide demonstrations on the use of EOIs to mitigate accidents
• build regulator confidence in the quality of the EOI development process
• provide answers to questions the regulators may have concerning symptom-based EOIs
• demonstrate the U.S. approach to regulator involvement in EOI development/implementation
• encourage regulator involvement/priority in EOI development, approval, and implementation.

A combination of classroom lectures and simulator scenarios will be used to demonstrate these key points. (Kent Faris, PNNL, 509-372-4068)

November 4-8 -- Khmelnytskyy NPP, Netishin, Ukraine.
Program staff from Brookhaven National Laboratory and S3 Technologies will inspect progress of the full-scope simulator work before the start of the hardware/software integration effort. Meetings also are planned with Khmelnytskyy plant personnel to discuss issues related to the project. (Peter Kohut, BNL, 516-344-4982)

November 4-6 -- Kyiv, Ukraine.
The RBMK Maintenance Advisory Board will meet to discuss project progress to date and to determine and prioritize project activities for 1997. Chornobyl NPP will host the meeting at its Kyiv offices. U.S. program team members will attend. (Tom Vehec, PNNL, 509-372-4072)

*November 4-16 -- Khmelnytskyy NPP, Ukraine.
General Physics Corporation will assist Khmelnytskyy NPP with the implementation of the pilot Refueling Operator Training program. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

*November 11-22 -- Chornobyl NPP, Ukraine.
General Physics Corporation and Sonalysts, Inc. will work with the Chornobyl NPP training development group on the development of the Control Room Reactor Operator and Radiation Protection Technician training programs. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

November 11-22 -- Balakovo NPP, Russia.
Sonalysts staff will assist Balakovo in the implementation of the water chemistry training course. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

*November 11-December 6 -- Aiken, South Carolina.
As part of the training technology transfer program, representatives from Kursk, Beloyarsk, Leningrad, Smolensk, and Smolensk Training Center will attend a detailed training course on the systematic approach to training and instructor skills at the General Physics facility in Aiken. The course will be presented by General Physics and Sonalysts. A visit to a training center at a U.S. nuclear power plant will be included. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

November 18-22 -- Zaporizhzhya NPP, Ukraine.
There will be a VVER-1000 EOI working group meeting at Zaporizhzhya NPP. Representatives from all VVER-1000 NPPs are scheduled to attend. (Kent Faris, PNNL, 509-372-4068)

November 18-22 -- Smolensk NPP, Russia.
There will be an RBMK EOI working group meeting at Smolensk NPP. Representatives from all RBMK NPPs are scheduled to attend. (Kent Faris, PNNL, 509-372-4068)

November 18-22 -- Bohunice NPP, Slovakia.
The VVER-440/213 EOI working group will meet. Representatives from all VVER-440/213 NPPs are scheduled to attend. (Kent Faris, PNNL, 509-372-4068)

*November 25-29 -- Kozloduy NPP, Bulgaria.
At an EOI workshop, staff from Kozloduy VVER-1000 and VVER-440/230 units will finalize a Writer's Guide and begin developing a User's Guide. Representatives from Sonalysts, Inc. will present the principles of the U.S. User's Guide. (Kent Faris, PNNL, 509-372-4068)

*December 2-6 -- Richland, Washington, USA.
U.S. program staff, in cooperation with the IAEA, will sponsor a week-long seminar for selected host country regulatory agency representatives. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory experts will train participants to use the COBRA-SFS code, a computer program for predicting in-cask storage temperatures of nuclear fuel. U.S. experience with programs supporting dry storage of spent fuel also will be covered during the seminar. (Mike McKinnon, PNNL, 509-372-4198)

*December 2-6 -- St. Petersburg, Russia.
A team representing the United States, Rosenergoatom, VNIIAES, the Novovoronezh Training Center, and Balakovo NPP will conduct a needs assessment for training technology transfer at Leningrad NPP. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

December 2-12 -- Moscow, Russia.
Programmatic review meetings are planned for a number of ongoing simulator projects. Staff from Kola, Kalinin, Novovoronezh, and Chornobyl NPPs will meet with S3 Technologies, VNIIAES, and U.S. program team members to discuss the progress of the simulator projects at each respective plant. (Peter Kohut, BNL, 516-344-4982)

*December 9-10 -- Dimitrovgrad, Russia.
DOE and BNL will meet with representatives of the Scientific Research Institute of Atomic Reactors (NIIAR) to discuss establishing training programs based on the systematic approach to training to improve the performance of research reactor personnel and the safety of the research reactors. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

December 11-12 -- Moscow, Russia.
U.S. program staff will meet with the training technology transfer participants to discuss program progress. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

December TBD -- Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.
Plans are being made to bring nondestructive examination specialists from Russia and Ukraine to the United States to observe U.S. nondestructive examination practices. Tentative plans include visits to the Electric Power Research Institute Nondestructive Examination Center in Charlotte and a U.S. NPP, as well as to the Savannah River Site to observe how its inspection program has been upgraded. (Robert Moffitt, PNNL, 509-372-4108)

January TBD -- Dukovany NPP, Czech Republic.
In a tentatively scheduled EOI workshop, Sonalysts representatives will present the U.S. principles of verification and validation to staff from the Dukovany NPP VVER-440/213 units. (Larry Sherfey, PNNL, 509-372-4080)

ACRONYMNS/ABBREVIATIONS

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.