July - September 2001 Contents Highlight

Armenia Bulgaria Czech Republic Hungary

Kazakhstan Lithuania Russia Slovakia

Ukraine United States Cross-Cutting Activities Planned Activities

Russia

Normative documentation for Russian simulator training approved

In late June, Rosenergoatom (REA) approved two normative documents under Order of Concern No. 305. These documents establish the requirements for development, commissioning, and use of nuclear power plant simulators and other devices used for technical training of staff at nuclear plants.

The two documents include RD 0278-01, Requirements of the Technical Means of Training of NPP Operation Personnel, and RD 0279-01, Provisions for Commissioning and Issuing a Permit for the use of the Technical Means of Training for Nuclear Power Plant Personnel Training. Document RD 0278-01 provides a description of the minimum capability requirements that simulators and other devices must have to be acceptable for training. It can be compared to the ANS-3.5 standards used in the United States. Document RD 0279-01 set the requirements and procedure for commissioning and obtaining permission to use the technical training devices in the training organization.

Three workshops were held in Moscow (September 2000, December 2000, and March 2001) to develop these documents. The workshop participants included simulator and training specialists from VNIIAES, the Novovoronezh Training Center, PNNL, and the Balakovo, Kursk, and Novovoronezh nuclear plants. The participants used existing Russian, Ukrainian, and U.S. documents, practices, and technological capabilities to develop a comprehensive set of documents to clarify and standardize the requirements of the simulators and other training devices. All Russian nuclear plants and REA received copies of the draft documents prior to the final workshop, and these comments were incorporated into the final version that was submitted and approved by REA. (John Yoder, DOE, 301-903-5650; Ken Erickson, PNNL, 509-372-4063)

VVER and RBMK code validation project reviewed

In early July, a technical specialist from Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) traveled to Moscow to discuss the status of the code validation project for application to VVER and RBMK reactors. The specialist from ANL met with representatives of the Russian International Nuclear Safety Center (RINSC) and the Electrogorsk Research and Engineering Center (EREC) who are participating in the code validation projects. The status of the current activities (i.e., definition and analysis of standard problems) was discussed, and the schedule for deliverables was updated. The discussions concentrated on the proposed statement of work for initiating a testing program at the PSB-VVER (an electrically heated large-scale integral thermo-physical model of a VVER-1000 reactor) facility at EREC. The proposed scope of work and activities were discussed in detail. The deliverables will be used in the discussions with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) with the aim of establishing a joint project for a set of PSB-VVER tests to support the code validation efforts. Under the statement of work, RINSC and EREC agree to develop 1) a list of priority tests and their justification, 2) a test and data quality control guideline, and 3) a detailed status of the facility instrumentation. This information will be prepared in time for discussion at the NEA-led meeting of experts scheduled for mid-October. Under the same statement of work, RINSC and EREC agreed to perform an initial test with PSB-VVER, with the goal of showing that the facility can produce quality data and useful results. It is desirable that the test be conducted before the December 2001 meeting of the Committee for the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI), which will decide on the establishment of the NEA project. (Walt Pasedag, NNSA, 301-903-3628; Mark Petri, ANL, 630-252-3719)

Circuit breaker manufacturing license in Russia considered

In mid-July, specialists from Pacific Breakers, Western Services, REA, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Battelle, and PNNL visited the facilities of two Russian firms, Tenzor in Dubna and Plant Progress in Protvino, to discuss the possibility of establishing a license for the manufacture of circuit breakers with a Russian firm. The type of circuit breaker design to be manufactured has not been decided yet. A design requirements document will be developed with Russian contractors, and Western Services will perform a market survey. (Grigory Trosman, NNSA, 301-903-3581; Richard Denning, Battelle, 614-424-7412)

Status of Volgodonsk and Kalinin full-scope simulator projects reviewed

In August, specialists from PNNL met in Moscow with representatives of VNIIAES, REA, the Volgodonsk Nuclear Power Plant (formerly known as the Rostov plant), and General Energy Technologies (GET) to discuss the status of the Volgodonsk full-scope simulator project. The Volgodonsk plant has not yet entered into a contract with GET for the software portion of the project although the contract should be in place before the next DOE/Minatom Coordinating Committee Meeting in October.

Management of the Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant reviewed the status of the Kalinin Unit 2 full-scope simulator project with PNNL technical specialists. This project was scheduled to be complete in May 2002, but now the anticipated completion date is December 2001. The simulator room at Kalinin is complete and ready to accept the simulator; however, the simulator will not be moved to the plant until next May or June when the weather improves. (John Yoder, DOE, 301-903-5650; Joe Cleary, PNNL, 509-372-4094)

Leningrad Units 1 and 2 ISA project status reviewed

The In-Depth Safety Assessment (ISA) Technical Committees for Leningrad Units 1 and 2 met in Stockholm at the end of September to review project status. Participants included representatives from Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Finland, Russia, and the United States. Key meeting objectives and conclusions are discussed below.

At the request of the Project Steering Committee, Western production representatives reviewed the Leningrad Unit 2 ISA Summary Report. The review addressed the report's completeness and the verifiability of the information and adequacy of the reference materials. The reviewers found the report to be comprehensive, but lacking depth and verifiability in a number of areas. In addition, the reviewers found a number of critical safety issues that need to be addressed in the near future. Recommendations for addressing the critical issues were developed. The review report and proposal to address the safety issues will be presented for consideration and approval at the upcoming Steering Committee meeting, which will be held in October in Washington, D.C.

The Leningrad Unit 1 Technical Committee reviewed a scope of work, labor estimate, and sequence of activities for the Unit 1 ISA project. The scope of work was based, in part, on the experience of the Unit 2 project. Issues concerning the scope, timing, and labor were discussed and documented. The Technical Committee agreed to meet October 16, prior to the next Steering Committee to address these issues and finalize the Unit 1 production plan.

Western Technical Committee members met with the Steering Committee chairman at the Swedish International Project office to discuss the Unit 2 ISA issues and agenda for the October Steering Committee meeting. The Steering Committee chair will coordinate development of a response to the critical safety issues prior to the next meeting. (Walt Pasedag, NNSA, 301-903-3628; Sam McKay, PNNL, 509-372-4059)