October 2000 Contents Highlights

Armenia Bulgaria Czech Republic Hungary

Kazakhstan Lithuania Russia Slovakia

Ukraine United States Cross-Cutting Activities Planned Activities

Cross-Cutting Activities

International exchange forum for VVER and RBMK reactors held in Obninsk

The 2000 Information Exchange Forum, "Safety Analysis for Nuclear Power Plants of VVER and RBMK Types" was held October 14 through 21 at the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering (IPPE) in Obninsk, Russia. The forum is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), with support from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and was hosted by the Russian Institute for Physics and Power Engineering. This annual meeting is conducted to bring plant, utility, regulatory, and research institute personnel together in an open forum to exchange information concerning past, present, and planned safety assessment work at Soviet-designed reactors.

During the five-day forum, 100 papers reported on work sponsored by DOE and by other organizations and countries including the IAEA, Swedish International Projects (SIP), Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovakia, Russia, and Ukraine. Approximately 150 representatives attended the forum from host-country plants, utilities, government agencies, research institutes and U.S. national laboratories, and international organizations. Nuclear power plants represented included Paks, Kola, Ignalina, Leningrad, Kalinin, Balakovo, Novovoronezh, Rivne, Khmelnytskyy, Zaporizhzhya, and South Ukraine, and Monticello, a 545 MWe BWR plant located in Montecello, Minnesota. This year, for the first time, training managers from Ignalina, Novovoronezh, and Khmelnytskyy NPPs attended the forum.

In addition, a two-day parallel session of the International RELAP Users Group was held. This session also was sponsored by DOE with support from IAEA, SIP, Nuclear Energy Agency (France), IPPE, RiskAudit (French/German joint venture), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, and Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. (Walt Pasedag, DOE, 301-901-3628; Ty Blackburn, PNNL, 509-372-4092)