October 1999 Highlight

Armenia Bulgaria Czech Republic Hungary

Kazakhstan Lithuania Russia Slovakia

Ukraine United States Cross-Cutting Activities Planned Activities

Cross-Cutting Activities

International Exchange Forum for RBMK and VVER Reactors Held in Obninsk

The fourth International Information Exchange Forum on safety analysis for VVER and RBMK nuclear power plants was held October 11 through 15 in Obninsk, Russia. The forum is sponsored by DOE, with support from the IAEA, and was hosted by the Russian Institute for Power and Physics Engineering. More than 100 representatives from 13 countries attended the forum. Representatives came from five plants in Russia and four in Ukraine, as well as from plants in Armenia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, and Slovakia. Also in strong attendance were representatives from regulatory bodies. U.S. representatives attended from Argonne National Laboratory and the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. The technical sessions included 51 presentations on subjects including program overviews, operational safety analyses, code validation, and probabilistic safety analysis. In addition, a two-day parallel session of the International RELAP Users Group was held, and approximately ten papers were presented in a poster session. Several talks emphasized the importance of systematically developing and maintaining a safety culture. The quality of technical exchange was high, with increasing involvement of plant personnel, serving as a sign that the forum fills an important role in improving safety of Soviet-designed reactors. (Walter Pasedag, DOE, 301-903-3628; Jeff Binder, ANL, 630-252-7265)

Update on DOE-Sponsored Y2K Activities

Much international cooperation and in-country activity is taking place to ensure that countries with Soviet-designed reactors identify year 2000 (Y2K) problems and remediate them before midnight December 31. DOE has focused most of its efforts in Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, and Kazakhstan. Recent activities include

• completing a contingency planning workshop September 27 in Moscow
• participating in a round of contingency planning working meetings in Kyiv October 20 and 21
• participating in a review of Y2K efforts at Bilibino NPP the week of October 20.

Also in October, an agreement was reached to participate in Russia's national Y2K drills in St. Petersburg November 18 and 19; Ukrainian representatives also are expected to attend those drills. A contract was issued October 18 to remediate the additional information system (DIIS), which is part of the plant process computer at Chornobyl Unit 3. In Armenia, Y2K-related contracts were issued in October for an in-core monitoring system, plant security system, and the telecommunications system. In Kazakhstan, a team visited during October to assist with a Y2K review at the shut-down Aktau NPP and assist in converting the plant information system to a Y2K-compliant platform. The Aktau computers now are considered Y2K-ready. (Norman Fletcher, DOE, 301-903-3275; Tye Blackburn, PNNL, 509-372-4092)