August 16, 1996
Prepared by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington

RUSSIA

Novovoronezh Safety Analysis. Two groups of NPP staff from Novovoronezh will arrive at BNL on September 1, 1996, to train and perform safety analysis calculations. One group will be using the NPA input decks for Unit 5 while the other group will begin developing an input deck for Units 3 and 4. BNL is preparing for them by setting up the agenda and training materials that will be needed during their stay. (Greg Slovik, BNL, 516-344-7983)

VVER-1000 Working Group Meeting. The VVER-1000 Emergency Operating Instruction (EOI) Working Group met this week in Moscow. The meeting, hosted by VNIIAES, was held to coordinate the NPP activities with those of Gidropress and review the analytical calculations being performed by Gidropress in support of the EOIs. Results of this meeting will be reported following receipt of the meeting protocol. (Kent Faris, PNNL, 509-372-4068)

UKRAINE

Chornobyl Shelter Project. The kickoff meeting was held in Washington, D.C., on August 13 with the team of industrial specialists tasked to support working groups of the European Commission (EC) Chornobyl Shelter project. The meeting included specialists from Bechtel, Halliburton NUS, Parsons Power, SAIC, and Stone & Webster Engineering Company plus INSP staff. The working group coordinator, from Stone & Webster, left the meeting bound for Darmstadt, where he will provide on-site support to the EC project manager, Trischler and Partner. Most of the team will attend an organizing meeting in Darmstadt the week of August 19. That meeting will be followed immediately by working meetings at the offices of the working group team leaders in France, Italy, Great Britain, and Spain. (Dennis Kried, PNNL, 509-375-2170)

South Ukraine Unit 3 Full-Scope Simulator. Contract negotiations between PNNL and S3 Technologies for the U.S.-funded tasks were concluded on August 13. (Narinder Tutu, BNL, 516-344-4929, or James Anderson, PNNL, 509-372-4721)

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Ignalina NPP Configuration Management Project, Lithuania. Three Ignalina NPP staff received training at the Comanche Peak and North Anna nuclear plants in configuration management establishment and use. All three, who manage the configuration management effort at their plant, stated that the training greatly improved their understanding of how to institute and use configuration management. Following the plant visits, meetings were held at Stone & Webster Engineering Company offices. Agreements were reached on how to complete the initial configuration management project and coordinate the U.S. and Swedish joint project on configuration management implementation. (Dan Couch, PNNL, 509-372-4591)

Kozloduy NPP, Bulgaria. On August 7, a shipment of spare parts/consumables was delivered to the Kozloduy NPP for the portable diesel generator supplied earlier under the program. This represents the last deliverable to be shipped for this project. (Bob Fitzpatrick, 516-344-7204)

Nuclear Plant Analyzer Project ( Bulgaria). A research scientist from the Bulgarian Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy is at BNL working on the nuclear plant analyzer (NPA). To check out the NPA deck that has been developed for Kozloduy Unit 6, the NPP staff has requested that several transients related to the EOI development be preformed. A transient in which a single pressure relief valve is stuck open in the pressurizer is being analyzed. Discussions with the Kozloduy NPP are under way to obtain the latest procedures for the operators to follow for the calculations. The results will be used by the power plant for their review and feedback into the EOIs being developed for their VVER -1000 reactor. (Greg Slovik, BNL, 516-344-7983)

Lithuania. Two Lithuanian specialists from the Lithuanian Energy Institute (LEI) have completed the section of their BNL training in which the geometrical and operational information on the RMBK-1500 reactors at Ignalina has been discussed. A list of missing information has been compiled for them to investigate when they return to Lithuania. The available data is now being used to develop input decks to perform some cell calculations for the different fuel types in the core. The ultimate goal is to develop the reactivity feedback models needed to enhance the nuclear plant analyzer that LEI uses for thermal hydraulic calculations. (Greg Slovik, BNL, 516-344-7983)

Slovakia Nuclear Plant Analyzer. A training program date is being discussed with the power plant and the regulators. The proposed time is during November 1996. The material needed for the training is being developed. (Greg Slovik, BNL, 516-344-7983)

Ignalina NPP Workshop. An emergency operating instructions (EOIs) workshop, specific to the Ignalina NPP site, was conducted August 6 through 9 at the RELCON offices in Stockholm, Sweden. Participants included representatives from RELCON (Sweden), Ignalina (Lithuania), and PNNL. Major meeting topics included a project status review, discussion of basis document requirements, and comparison of probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) results to EOI strategies.

Selected PRA-identified accident sequences were used to assess the completeness of the current EOI guidance. Several important EOI limitations were identified and corrected. Overall, the assessment demonstrated that the Ignalina NPP EOIs provide valuable guidance to assist the plant's operators in responding to abnormal and emergency plant conditions. Future workshops will involve the continued use of dominating accident sequences in assessing the adequacy of the EOIs.

The PRA importance analysis of basic individual events was reviewed and discussed with regard to EOI development. Specifically, those basic events that involved operator performance and provided the highest fractional contribution to the core damage frequency were reviewed. Although not complete, the Ignalina NPP EOI staff plans to conduct a comprehensive importance analysis, to identify important operator performance issues that must be addressed in the EOIs before the first complete EOI draft is issued.

In support of the need to develop a basis document, PNNL stressed the need to involve a design representative in future meetings. PNNL agreed to contact ENTEK concerning this issue at the upcoming RBMK working group meeting. (Sam McKay, PNNL, 509-372-4059)

PLANNED ACTIVITIES

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

*August 17-25 -- Kalinin and Smolensk NPP, Russia.
(The Ukraine portion of this trip has been canceled.) Arrangements are being made for INSP specialists to observe nondestructive examination (NDE) activities at NPPs in Russia in support of the new NDE projects. Tentative plans are to visit the Kalinin and Smolensk NPPs in Russia. The focus of this trip will be to observe actual examinations and inspections to better understand the plants' current capabilities and determine how to augment them most effectively. (Robert Moffitt, PNNL, 509-372-4108)

August 18-20 -- Smolensk NPP, Russia.
Representatives from INSP, Parsons Power, RDIPE, Smolensk NPP, and Westinghouse will meet to agree on team responsibilities and to develop a schedule for providing safety parameter display systems for Smolensk Units 1, 2 and 3. (Rich Denning, PNNL, 614-424-7412)

*August 18-22 -- Darmstadt, Germany.
INSP technical staff will participate in meetings of the European Commission regarding safety issues for the Chornobyl Shelter Project for Unit 4. (Dan Giessing, DOE, 301-903-2852)

August 18-23 -- Moscow, Russia.
Representatives from the U.S. International Nuclear Safety Center at Argonne National Laboratory will meet with staff from the Russian Academy of Sciences (IBRAE). The purpose of the meeting is to review progress on the Russian International Nuclear Safety Center database and ensure its compatibility with the existing database at Argonne. (Walt Pasedag, DOE, 301-903-3628)

August 18-25 -- Boston, Massachusetts.
Four representatives from Gosatomnadzor will attend a class on nuclear emergency planning at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts. (George Sherwood, DOE, 301-903-4162 or George Vargo, PNNL, 509-375-6836)

August 19-23 -- Khmelnytskyy NPP, Ukraine.
General Physics Corporation will conduct a 1-week training session at Khmelnytskyy NPP. The objective is to continue development of training programs for the control room reactor operator, refueling floor operator, and chemical operator. General Physics staff also will provide instruction on the systematic approach to training to Khmelnytskyy NPP representatives. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

August 19-24 -- Khmelnytskyy NPP, Ukraine.
Technical staff from INSP and S3 Technologies will inspect the construction of the building that will house the full-scope simulator. The delivery of the simulator control panels cannot proceed until certain construction items are complete in the building. (Bill Shier, BNL, 516-344-2385)

August 21-23 -- Moscow, Russia.
Representatives from INSP, Kursk NPP, Parsons Power, RDIPE, and Westinghouse will meet to agree on team responsibilities and to develop a schedule for providing safety parameter display systems for Kursk Units 3 and 4. (Rich Denning, PNNL, 614-424-7412)

August 22-23 -- Stockholm, Sweden.
A Leningrad NPP probabilistic risk assessment meeting is scheduled. Participants include representatives from AEA Technologies, ENTEK, ES-Konsult, and INSP. (Sam McKay, PNNL, 509-372-4059)

August 25-30 -- Slavutych, Ukraine.
INSP technical staff will attend the European Commission workshop on the Chornobyl shelter project. (Dennis Kried, PNNL, 509-375-2170)

August 26-30 -- Kursk NPP, Russia.
U.S. specialists will visit Kursk NPP in Russia to train plant staff in the use of ultrasonic testing equipment and a re-engineered high-temperature suit, which have recently been delivered to the site. (Jim Guppy, BNL, 516-344-2698)

August 26-30 -- Kola NPP, Russia.
There will be a VVER-440/213 EOI working group meeting at Kola NPP. Representatives from all VVER-440/213 NPPs are scheduled to attend. (Kent Faris, PNNL, 509-372-4068)

August 26-30 -- Ignalina NPP, Lithuania.
There will be an RBMK EOI working group meeting at Ignalina NPP. Representatives from all RBMK NPPs are scheduled to attend. (Kent Faris, PNNL, 509-372-4068)

August 27-28 -- Washington, D.C.
Ukrainians will attend a workshop on legislative framework for the nuclear liability issues. (George Sherwood, DOE, 301-903-4162 or George Vargo, PNNL, 509-375-6836)

August TBD -- Moscow, Russia.
The VVER-1000 working group will hold a special meeting at VNIIAES. Members of the working group from the Kozloduy, Balakovo, and Zaporizhzhya NPPs will meet with VNIIAES and Gidropress to review and discuss results of analysis calculations completed by Gidropress. (Kent Faris, PNNL, 509-372-4068)

August TBD -- Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Staff from Novovoronezh NPP will arrive at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in late August to train and perform safety analysis calculations using the nuclear plant analyzer input decks (input files) for Unit 5. BNL is preparing the agenda and training programs that will be needed during their stay. (Greg Slovik, BNL, 516-344-7983)

September 2-6 -- Bilibino 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)

September 3-7 -- Trnava, Slovakia.
A meeting will be held to plan for the Trnava simulator upgrade project. Participants will review the status of the current simulator, discuss the project tasks and schedules, and finalize the roles of the project players in a memorandum of understanding. (Ken Erickson, PNNL, 509-372-4063)

September 8-12 -- Moscow, Russia.
The semi-annual coordinating meeting with Minatom and other Russian contacts will take place in Moscow. These meetings will cover the status of ongoing projects and future cooperative efforts. (Dan Giessing, DOE, 301-903-2852)

*September 8-11 -- Moscow, Russia.
Meetings related to the deterministic safety analysis for the Leningrad NPP Unit 2 will be held in Moscow. INSP staff will provide technical assistance for the development and conduct of selected deterministic analyses for supporting the creation of a level 1 probabilistic and deterministic safety analysis. (Walt Pasedag, DOE, 301-903-3628)

September 9-12 -- Balakovo NPP, Russia.
Balakovo NPP staff and Sonalysts staff will implement the training courses for electrical maintenance and simulator instructors. Representatives from INSP will implement the specialized training course for management/supervisory skills. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

September 9-13 -- Kozloduy NPP, Bulgaria.
The VVER-1000 EOI working group will meet at Kozloduy NPP. Representatives from all VVER-1000 NPPs are scheduled to attend. (Kent Faris, PNNL, 509-372-4068)

*September 11-22 -- Vienna, Austria.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) RBMK Steering Committee meets 2-3 times per year to evaluate and review proposed IAEA support to RBMK nuclear power plants. INSP technical staff will represent the United States at this mid-September meeting in Vienna. (Walt Pasedag, DOE, 301-903-3628)

September 13-19 -- Kyiv, Ukraine.
Program review meetings will take place in Kyiv with representatives from the Chornobyl Center, DOE, Goscomatom, and INSP technical staff. (Dan Giessing, DOE, 301-903-2852)

*September 14-20 -- Kyiv, Ukraine.
Ukrainian government and parliament officials will meet with INSP staff to discuss the possibility of a conference on U.S.-Ukraine nuclear relations. (Mike Congdon, PNNL, 202-646-5285)

September 14-28 -- Moscow, Russia.
Acceptance testing of the Kalinin full-scope simulator will take place at the simulator manufacturing factory of VNIIAES/GET in Moscow. INSP technical staff will attend. (John Yoder, DOE, 301-903-5650)

*September 9-14 -- Brussels, Belgium.
Members of the European Commission Chornobyl Shelter Project will hold feasibility assessment meetings. (Dennis Kried, PNNL, 509-375-2170)

September 16 -- Smolensk NPP, Russia.
The first classes on vibration analysis and shaft alignment will be held at the Smolensk training center. (Tom Vehec, PNNL, 509-372-4072)

September 16-20 -- Kalinin 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)

September 16-20 -- Moscow, Russia.
Representatives from Gosatomnadzor will attend a workshop on quality assurance for the transport of nuclear materials. (George Sherwood, DOE, 301-903-4162, or George Vargo, PNNL, 509-375-6836)

September 20-22 -- Moscow, Russia.
A project review meeting for the Kola in-depth safety analysis (KOLISA) project will be held in Moscow. INSP technical staff will attend. (Walt Pasedag, DOE, 301-903-3628)

September 20-29 -- Kozloduy NPP, Bulgaria.
A VVER-440/230 EOI working group meeting is tentatively scheduled. Representatives from the Armenia Nuclear Power Station and the Kozloduy, Novovoronezh, and Kola NPPs will attend. (Kent Faris, PNNL, 509-372-4068)

September 21-October 4 -- Ignalina NPP, Lithuania and Kozloduy NPP, Bulgaria.
INSP staff will participate in configuration management meetings at Ignalina NPP. Then staff from INSP, Kozolody NPP, and Risk Engineering Limited will meet at Kozloduy NPP to discuss the configuration management and seismic upgrade projects. (Dan Couch, PNNL, 509-372-4591)

*September 24-26 -- Obninsk, Russia.
DOE will hold an information exchange,"Analytical Methods and Computational Tools for NPP Safety Assessment," at the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering (IPPE). The primary purpose is to provide an open forum for the exchange of information between experts involved in the safety evaluation of Soviet-designed reactors and communicate the results of the safety analyses carried out under INSP sponsorship in Russia, Ukraine, and Central European countries with Soviet-designed reactors. Papers will be presented on a number of topics including probabilistic risk assessment, thermal hydraulic analysis, structural analysis, and neutronic analysis. Safety analysis specialists from Russian, Ukrainian, and Central and Eastern European power plants and technical organizations will participate actively. Participation of a limited number of Western European and U.S. experts is also expected. (Walt Pasedag, DOE, 301-903-3628, or Jeff Binder, ANL, 630-252-7265)

September 30-October 4 -- Place TBD
Representatives from BNL, DOE, GAN, INPO, and NRC will attend training technology transfer meetings. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

September 30-October 10 -- Waterford, Connecticut.
Balakovo specialists will travel to Sonalysts to continue development of the training course for instrumentation and control operations. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

September TBD -- Leningrad NPP, Russia.
Representatives from INSP, Parsons Power, Westinghouse, Leningrad NPP, and RDIPE will meet to reach agreement on specifications for the Leningrad Unit 3 safety parameter display system and sign a memorandum of agreement on roles and responsibilities. (Rich Denning, PNNL, 614-424-7412)

*October TBD -- Prague, Czech Republic.
A probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) workshop will be cosponsored with the IAEA at the ez Institute. This workshop will focus on resolving discrepancies when existing PRA studies for VVER-440 reactors are compared. The focus of this workshop will be initiating events and component reliability data. There will be active participation of safety analysis specialists from Russian, Ukrainian, and Central and Eastern European power plants and technical organizations. Participation of a limited number of Western European and U.S. experts is also expected. (Jeff Binder, ANL, 630-252-7265)

October 7-18 -- Kozloduy NPP, Bulgaria.
General Physics and Sonalysts staff will assist Kozloduy NPP with the implementation of training courses for the shift supervisors and reactor repair technicians. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

October 14-18 -- Smolensk 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 14-25 -- Waterford, Connecticut.
Balakovo NPP specialists will travel to Sonalysts to continue development of the radiation protection training course. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

*October 21 -- TBD
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-Finland. (Jeff Binder, ANL, 630-252-7265)

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 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)

October TBD -- Place TBD.
An EOI workshop for regulatory personnel tentatively is being scheduled at a U.S. location. Representatives from Russian, Ukrainian, and CEEC regulatory agencies will attend to observe, learn, and discuss regulator involvement with EOIs associated with the VVER reactors. (Kent Faris, PNNL, 509-372-4068)

October TBD -- Kozloduy NPP, Bulgaria.
An EOI workshop tentatively is scheduled for Kozloduy NPP. Representatives from Sonalysts will present the principles of the U.S. "User's Guide" to staff from Kozloduy VVER-1000 and VVER-440/230 units. (Kent Faris, PNNL, 509-372-4068)

October 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)

October TBD -- Moscow, Russia.
A special meeting of the VVER-1000 working group will be held at VNIIAES. Working group members from the Balakovo, Kozloduy, and Zaporizhzhya NPPs will meet with VNIIAES and Gidropress to review and discuss results of analysis calculations completed by Gidropress. (Kent Faris, PNNL, 509-372-4068)

*November 4-8 -- Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA.
A VVER Regulator EOI Workshop has been scheduled for the NRC Technical Training Center. The workshop participants will be regulators with primary responsibilities for reviewing and approving VVER EOIs. Workshop objectives are to

• educate/familiarize regulator 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.

November 4-8 -- Kozloduy NPP, Bulgaria.
There will be a VVER-440/230 EOI working group meeting at Kozloduy NPP. Representatives from all VVER-440/230 NPPs are scheduled to attend. (Kent Faris, PNNL, 509-372-4068)

November 4-8 -- 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 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 -- Place TBD
A workshop on the systematic approach to training will be held for participants of the Training Technology Transfer Program. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

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)

December 9-13 -- Bohunice NPP, Slovakia.
There will be a VVER-440/213 EOI working group meeting at Bohunice NPP. Representatives from all VVER-440/213 NPPs are scheduled to attend. (Kent Faris, PNNL, 509-372-4068)

Dec. 11 - 12 -- Moscow, Russia.
A meeting will be held with the training technology transfer participants to discuss the progress of the program. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

December TBD -- Charlotte, North Carolina.
Plans are being made to bring NDE specialists from Russia and Ukraine to the United States to observe U.S. NDE practices. Tentative plans include visits to the Electric Power Research Institute NDE 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)

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.