July - September 2001 Contents Highlight

Armenia Bulgaria Czech Republic Hungary

Kazakhstan Lithuania Russia Slovakia

Ukraine United States Cross-Cutting Activities Planned Activities

Ukraine

Status of code assessment projects reviewed

In early July, technical specialists from ANL traveled to Kyiv to discuss the status of Ukrainian code assessment projects with representatives of Kyiv University, the Bulgarian Institute of Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy (INRNE), and Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). The status of two thermal-hydraulics standard problem analyses based on a test at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant and a transient at the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant was discussed. Specialists at Kyiv University and INRNE have made significant progress in the analysis of these two standard problems, and an updated schedule was developed for the completion of the analysis and comparison of the results. The benchmark problem on neutron kinetics-
thermal-hydraulics was also discussed at length. The representatives from Penn State and INRNE described the benchmark specification in detail and were able to answer numerous technical questions from the Kyiv University representatives. Specialists from Penn State currently are developing a set of neutron cross sections that Kyiv University will be able to use. The participants agreed on updates to the benchmark specifications, as well as on a schedule for the transfer of the cross section data and the analysis of the benchmark. (Walt Pasedag, NNSA, 301-903-3628; Mark Petri, ANL, 630-252-3719)

Physical security projects at Khmelnytskyy and Zaporizhzhya reviewed

During the week of July 9, security specialists from Ukraine and Armenia participated in a workshop to demonstrate the accomplishments of the physical security project at Khmelnytskyy Nuclear Plant Unit 1 in 2000, and to share experience in different areas, such as design development arrangements, scope, schedule, and contracts. Several meetings also were held at Kyiv Institute of Nuclear Research, where a similar project was
accomplished in 1998 under U.S. Department of Energy leadership, the Kyiv Energoproject design institute, and the Transexpo Corporation, which was the general contractor for the Khmelnytskyy plant. During the meetings at Khmelnytskyy, it was agreed to continue further security upgrades by installing detection and alarm systems in the diesel-generator buildings of Unit 1 and in the reactor building limited access area. The Ukrainian project participants will prepare a detailed justification and equipment list for these items.

A site visit to the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant was conducted to identify the prioritized areas for future physical security upgrades at that facility. Zaporizhzhya Unit 1 was selected for immediate implementation of upgrades, and the following priority actions were chosen for implementation:

• An automated access control system to limited access and
  vital areas will be installed. The badging system provided
  earlier will be modified and upgraded to allow all site
  personnel access with proximity cards.
• A Central Alarm Station (CAS) will be installed. Unit 1
  subsystems will be connected to the CAS. Upon further
  development of the project, units 2 through 6 will be
  integrated in the CAS.
• Physical barriers (doors, locks, turnstiles, etc.) in the internal
  vital and limited access barriers will be upgraded.

The meeting participants agreed that the security system design will represent the host country contribution to the project, and U.S. experts will verify it before implementation. The protocol between U.S. and Ukrainian organizations also was signed.

The PNNL representative revisited Zaporizhzhya in August to survey and photograph the areas that had been identified for upgrades. During this trip, he also met with representatives from the Khmelnytskyy Nuclear Power Plant and Energoatom to discuss and agree on the scope of additional upgrades that will be implemented at Khmelnytskyy. The meeting participants agreed that access controls and detection and surveillance capabilities for the reactor and diesel-generator buildings were high- priority focus areas. Handheld metal detectors and portable radios for site security forces also were identified as high-level equipment priorities. (Grigory Trosman, DOE, 301-903-3581; Andrei Glukhov, PNNL, 509-375-3961)

Training technology transfer continues at Zaporizhzhya and South Ukraine

In July, separate working sessions were held at the Zaporizhzhya (one week) and South Ukraine (two weeks) nuclear plants to continue the transfer of the Control Room Turbine Operator (CRTO) training program to the plants. During the sessions, training and technical specialists from the Engineering Technical Center for the Training of Nuclear Industry Personnel (ETC), the Khmelnytskyy Nuclear Power Plant, and Sonalysts Inc. assisted training specialists from the Zaporizhzhya and South Ukraine plants in understanding existing CRTO pilot program materials and in identifying material for modification using the Systematic Approach to Training methodology for application at the sites. (John Yoder, DOE, 301-903-5650; Don Draper, PNNL, 509-372-4079)

Status of full-scope simulator activities at Zaporizhzhya and Rivne reviewed

In early July, representatives of the Russian Research Institute for Nuclear Power Plant Operations-Lakrom (VNIIAES-Lakrom) and PNNL met in Moscow to discuss the status of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 full-scope simulator project. The main topics of discussion were

• the overall project schedule
• the manufacturing status of the simulator panels
• wiring and assembly activity
• hardware/software integration.

The key issue affecting the project schedule was the completion of the simulator panels, including the wiring and assembly. At the time of the meeting, all the panels had been fabricated by Kharkiv Electromechanical Works Enterprise, about 60% of the panels had been delivered to the simulator facility, and the shipping process was continuing. Control room panels had been manufactured and were currently awaiting assembly and painting. Instructor station and monitor supports were still being manufactured. Progress on other activities also was reported:

• Annunciator driver procurement was in progress.
• Integration of software models of technological systems was complete,
  including the instructor station and the plant- processing computer.
• The Ukrainian company KARE was subcontracted to deliver
  housing supplies from the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant
  to the Zaporizhzhya facility.
• The uninterruptible power source had been installed and was
  ready for power connection.
• VNIIAES-Lakrom also recommended including panel mimic
  development for the Zaporizhzhya facility fire safety system.

In August, the PNNL representative visited the Zaporizhzhya and Rivne plants to review ongoing full-scope simulator activities. The panels for the Zaporizhzhya Unit 1 simulator had been delivered to the site at the end of July, and wiring and assembly activities were in progress with completion expected by December.

For the Rivne Unit 2 simulator, the PNNL representative met with the Rivne training manager and representatives from ETC and GSE Systems to review the status of the Rivne project. Hardware/software integration activities were under way; however, due to very hot weather, the existing air conditioning system was not sufficient, and several failures of the main computer occurred because of elevated temperatures. Two additional portable air conditioner units will be purchased and installed to correct this deficiency. The simulator building security system is being modified, and an upgraded badging system will be installed in mid-October. The simulator commissioning is scheduled to occur in October 2002. (John Yoder, DOE, 301-903-5650; Andrei Glukhov, PNNL, 509-375-3961)

Ukrainian QA, OSI, EARLL, and DDSM activities reviewed

In July, August, and September, a specialist from PNNL traveled to Ukraine for discussions regarding several INSP activities.

In July, the PNNL specialist visited Energodar, Kyiv, and the Crimea Center for Science and Engineering (Crimea Center) for discussions about ongoing safety projects. At Energodar, he met with representatives from Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, and in Kyiv, he met with participants of the Ukraine Quality Assurance (QA), Operational Safety Infrastructure (OSI), Event Analysis Reporting and Lessons Learned (EARLL), and Design Document System Management (DDSM) projects. At the Crimea Center, the PNNL specialist observed root cause analysis training of South Ukraine nuclear plant staff.

In August, the PNNL specialist traveled to Scholkino to attend the annual meeting of the Ukraine EARLL working group and to Kyiv again to meet with participants of the QA, OSI, EARLL, and DDSM projects. During the August trip, the PNNL specialist also traveled to Rez in the Czech Republic for an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regional project related to VVER-1000 reactor design bases.

In September, the PNNL specialist and a representative of the U.S. firm Brian Grimes Inc. traveled to Ukraine to participate in meetings with members of a U.S. advisory committee and the Ukraine integrating contractor for the DDSM project. The U.S. representatives and members of the advisory committee traveled to Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant to participate in a meeting of the DDSM management committee. The advisory group offered recommendations for improving planned activities for development of a configuration management system and design basis documents. The management committee decided to
designate the Zaporizhzhya plant as the pilot plant for DDSM activities in 2002.

While in Energodar, the U.S. representatives and the advisory group held a workshop for ISA subcontractors and their nuclear power plant counterparts. During the workshop, the importance of design document quality was discussed, and the representative of Brian Grimes Inc. presented a regulatory perspective on engineering document quality. The PNNL representative
summarized QA principles and presented new guidelines for review of ISA subcontractor deliverables.

The PNNL representative traveled to Kyiv to meet with Nuclear Power Plant Operational Support Institute staff and representatives of Energoatom to discuss ongoing and planned activities under the EARLL, OSI, and QA projects. (Dennis Meyers, NNSA, 301-903-1418; Walt Pasedag, NNSA, 301-903-3628 [for DDSM projects]; Lief Erickson, PNNL, 509-372-4097)

Implementation of EOIs at Ukrainian plants discussed

In early August, Ukrainian developers of emergency operating instructions (EOIs) met with two representatives of PNNL to discuss a variety of topics aimed at implementation of EOIs at Ukrainian nuclear power plants. Discussions were held on the format and content of technical basis documents, results of verbal translations of Rivne and Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant EOIs, language consistency within the EOI sets, the importance of writer's guides, verification and validation, and updating the current EOI implementation schedule.

Attendees representing the Ukrainian Nuclear Electricity Generating Company; Rivne, Zaporizhzhya, and South Ukraine nuclear plants; Joint Stock Enterprise Ltd. (EIS); the International Chornobyl Center; ETC; State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety; and PNNL held productive discussions regarding the problems to be expected during EOI implementation. Among the hurdles to be overcome are scheduling of simulator time for validation, determination of the format and content of the technical basis documents, operator acceptance of symptom-based EOIs, and the expectation of the regulator for EOI approval.

The PNNL representatives committed to work with the regulator by presenting a workshop on symptom-based EOIs once individuals who will be reviewing the regulatory submittal (procedure generation package) are identified. This activity should occur in May/June 2002. Additionally, PNNL has offered support for assisting in the development of the technical basis documents, and for validation and verification. (John Yoder, DOE, 301-903-5650; Larry Sherfey, PNNL, 509-372-4080)

Zaporizhzhya Unit 5 safe shutdown analysis reviewed

In mid-August, members of the working group performing the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant Unit 5 Safe Shutdown Analysis Project met with representatives from PNNL and Brookhaven National Laboratory to review peer review comments for a deterministic analysis of fire-induced safe shutdown vulnerabilities at the plant. The Ukrainian organization that is performing the analysis is Kyiv Institute Energoproject, and the working group includes representatives from Energoproject, Zaporizhzhya, Joint Stock Enterprise Ltd., Energoatom Engineering Service, and Scientech. The U.S. peer reviews of the analysis were very complimentary of Energoproject's work. The documentation of each room and the system drawings are very detailed and are the best information generated on the unit to date. Minor changes to enhance and clarify the details in the report were discussed with the Energoproject representatives. In summary, the analysis shows that vulnerabilities do not exist in most areas of the plant; however, there are a few rooms in which a fire could have a significant impact on the safe shutdown capability of the plant. Energoproject will be revising their report based on comments received at this meeting and will issue the report after they have received review comments from Zaporizhzhya plant staff.

In the next phase of this activity, fire and flooding probabilistic risk analyses (PRAs) will be performed. The documentation generated for the deterministic analysis will be used to perform the fire PRA and parts of the flooding PRA. The fire PRA will evaluate the identified vulnerabilities to determine the likelihood of the occurance of a fire. The quality of the documentation collected for the deterministic analysis will allow the PRAs to be performed in a timely manner. A training session on performance of the fire PRA will be scheduled for later this fall.

The last task on the Zaporizhzhya Safe Shutdown Analysis Project will be to identify the vulnerabilities and to propose the most cost-effective methods to correct the deficiencies. This task was discussed with Energoproject and will be performed concurrently with the fire PRA. (Grigory Trosman, NNSA, 301-903-3581; Andy Minister, PNNL, 509-376-4938)

Dry spent fuel storage at Zaporizhzhya commences

In mid-August, representatives of the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy and its technical organization, Energoatom, along with representatives from Duke Engineering & Services, and PNNL observed the first loading of a dry spent fuel storage cask at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant. The first cask was loaded successfully on August 18, and several days later, it was installed in its permanent storage position. After the necessary measurements had been recorded, Zaporizhzhya received its regulatory permit to proceed with the loading of two more casks. The radiation levels measured during these operations were about 100 times lower than the design limits established in the Safety Analysis Report. Loading of all three casks was completed by September 6. (Grigory Trosman, DOE, 301-903-3581; Andrei Glukhov, PNNL, 509-375-3961)

SPDS training activities for Ukrainian plants planned

On September 4, two PNNL representatives met with Energoatom representatives and technical experts from each of the Ukrainian nuclear power plants to discuss the scope of Safety Parameter Display System (SPDS) training required for operators at the Ukrainian nuclear plants. As a result of this meeting, a clear scope for work was defined, a goal to have a contract in place by November was established, and a project completion date of June 2002 was agreed upon. PNNL staff will develop the necessary statements of work for these activities and will forward them to Ukrainian and U.S. contractors by the end of October. (John Yoder, DOE, 301-903-5650; Joe Cleary, PNNL, 509-372-4094)

Ukrainian operator training projects discussed

In early September, INSP representatives from DOE and PNNL met with the new Energoatom Simulator and Training Manager, Mr. Vladimir Ivanytskyy, and representatives of the Ukrainian nuclear power plants to review the status of current projects in the training area and plans for future activities. The intent of the status reviews was to ensure that all involved parties had a clear understanding of the current status of these activities and the anticipated scope of new activities. Mr. Ivanytskyy clearly stated his positions regarding proposed future activities, and the information he provided will be considered at the Coordinating Committee Meeting in October. A detailed protocol was developed that identifies Energoatom's priorities for simulator and training activities with existing funding, FY 2002 funding, and future funding. (John Yoder, DOE, 301-903-5650; Don Draper, PNNL, 509-372-4079; Al Ankrum, PNNL, 509-372-4095)

Slavutych Laboratory activites reviewed

A PNNL representative traveled to Slavutych where he met with the on-site NNSA representative and management of the Slavutych Laboratory for International Research and Technology. The status of ongoing projects relating to nuclear database development, satellite communications system upgrade,
financial audit/accounting system upgrade, quality program development, and technical training were reviewed and evaluated. The PNNL representative also attended the International Chornobyl Center (ICC) Council of Members meeting and portions of the Fifth Annual Conference hosted by the ICC. A major topic of discussion at the Council meeting was the proposed project to install a fiber optic cable between Slavutych and Chernigiv, Ukraine, which was endorsed by all council members. ICC management was asked to provide a complete project plan for the activity. (Riaz Awan, NNSA, 380-44-490-4485; Don Draper, PNNL, 509-372-4079)

INSC Ukraine web site expansion discussed

A representative of ANL traveled to Ukraine in September for several meetings regarding the International Nuclear Safety Center (INSC) Ukraine web site.

The ANL representative first met with representatives of Kyiv State University (KSU) to discuss expansion of the INSC Ukraine web site to include information on ongoing ISA projects for the Rivne and Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plants. The Ukrainian participants requested assistance with hardware capable of efficiently handling a large volume of information. The ANL representative agreed to address the equipment issue with INSP management.

Then, he attended the Fifth Annual Slavutych Conference where he and his collaborators from KSU delivered a poster presentation on the INSC Ukraine web site. Several Ukrainian and foreign organizations, such as the ICC, Chornobyl Radiological Center, Nuclear Research Institute of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Framatome, and the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering (IPPE) Obninsk, expressed great interest in the web site. The ICC Deputy Director welcomed the idea of linking ICC and INSC Ukraine web sites. It was agreed that issues surrounding such a linking would be discussed at a technical level within the September/October time frame.

Next, the ANL representative met with representatives of the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant to discuss the structure and content of the South Ukraine ISA web site and to determine the level of future participation by the South Ukraine plant in this activity. The South Ukraine ISA web site was developed this past summer jointly by KSU and ANL in consultation with staff at the South Ukraine nuclear plant. Management at the South Ukraine plant values this activity and is ready to assign personnel from the Safety Analysis Laboratory to work with KSU. It was agreed that, in the near future, technical representatives from South Ukraine and KSU would meet to reach final agreement on site accessibility control and organizational issues of mutual cooperation.

Finally, he visited a newly remodeled space at KSU that has been designated the INSC Ukraine office. The office is equipped with a security system and is connected to a local area network. INSC Ukraine computers and servers will be installed in this office. (Walt Pasedag, NNSA, 301-903-3628; IgorBodnar, ANL, 630-252-8336)

Chornobyl heat plant startup reviewed

From September 10-21, a PNNL specialist participated in the Fifth Annual ICC Conference and reviewed the status of the Chornobyl Replacement Heat Plant Project with Chornobyl nuclear plant specialists and managers.

At the ICC Conference, the specialist made a presentation on the completion of the replacement heat plant, its startup, and its turnover to the Chornobyl nuclear plant for operation. During the conference, he also met with the NNSA on-site representative, the Chornobyl Chief Engineer, and the Chornobyl Heat Plant Startup Manager to discuss startup and the need for critical spare parts. Delays in receiving the gas permit, caused by delays in acceptance of the gas distribution station near the town of Chornobyl and resolution of inspector-identified discrepancies, has slowed progress of startup.

After the conference, the PNNL specialist participated in further startup meetings at the heat plant. These meetings included additional reviews of project status and a tour of the site to assess progress since a previous visit in July. The major topic of discussion was restarting the commissioning process and obtaining the gas permit. A new schedule was developed showing commissioning activities through December. A new restart date of September 25 was planned pending final acceptance of the gas distribution station and resolution of the discrepancies identified during the inspection. Again, the need for spare parts was discussed, and an agreement was reached regarding the most critical near-term needs. (Riaz Awan, NNSA, 380-44-490-4485; Jim Hartley, PNNL, 509-946-1529)

Research collaborations promoted

Mr. Dan Couch, INSP Manager at PNNL, and Dr. Antone Brooks, Senior Researcher at Washington State University, traveled to Ukraine in mid-September to attend the Fifth Annual ICC Conference and to tour the ICC International Radioecology Laboratory (IRL) in Slavutych, the IRL Field Laboratory in the town of Chornobyl, and the Chornobyl nuclear plant. INSP arranged for Dr. Brooks, who conducts research in areas similar to those carried out by IRL (i.e., effects of contamination and low radiation doses on flora and fauna), to attend the ICC conference to foster collaborations with IRL. Dr. Brooks was impressed by the IRL facility and the research being conducted there. He was optimistic that there could be collaboration between his work and IRL. During the ICC Conference, Mr. Couch represented Dr. James Turner, Director of the NNSA Office of International Nuclear Safety and Cooperation, at the Council of Members meeting. (Rich Reister, DOE, 301-903-0234; Dan Couch, PNNL, 509-372-6415)