August 23, 1996
Prepared by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington

RUSSIA

Balakovo Training Center. Representatives from Balakovo nuclear power plant (NPP) completed a two-week training session at Sonalysts, Inc. in Waterford, Connecticut. The participants focused on developing training materials for simulator instructors (the pilot course is scheduled for September implementation) and water chemistry technicians. The Russian contingent toured Northeast Utilities' Millstone NPP and training center and had extensive technical discussions with their U.S. counterparts. Additionally, the Balakovo Training Center in Russia received a shipment of Heathkits from the United States. These Heathkits will be used as course-specific equipment for the electrical maintenance training program. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

Fire Safety. Bechtel Power Corporation was awarded a task order to work with Pohztest of Russia to establish a test standard for fire resistant materials. Bechtel and Promatec, Bechtel's subcontractor, will provide guidance and mentoring in conducting the tests at the Pohztest facility in Moscow. (Andrea L. Fernandez, PNNL, 509-375-2649)

Valve Technology Transfer. Negotiations were concluded on August 21, 1996, with Burns & Roe on a task to perform a preliminary study to determine if a technology transfer project on valve manufacturing and repair is feasible. (LaDonna F. James, PNNL, 509-375-4372)

Smolensk Training Center. Information on the scope of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) RBMK Maintenance Technology initiative was requested by Rosenergoatom to confirm that there are no overlaps with a proposal they plan to submit to the European Commission for support to the Smolensk Training Center. This information has been provided. The Rosenergoatom proposal is based on completion of two partially complete buildings adjacent to the existing Smolensk Training Center. (Tom Vehec, PNNL, 509-372-4072)

Thermo-Mechanical Training Loop for Smolensk. Approval for General Energy Technologies (GET) to start work on the design of the thermo-mechanical training loop for the Smolensk Training Center (Task 10) was obtained within two weeks of the receipt of the request. In that period of time the statement of work for this task was written, reviewed, approved and sent to GET. GET responded to the task and the technical review was completed. GET also responded in a timely manner to questions and clarifications for PNNL contracts and cost-price personnel. GET staff have begun work on this design task. (Tom Vehec, PNNL, 509-372-4072)

UKRAINE

Chornobyl Shelter Project. the team of U.S. industry/laboratory specialists selected to support the European Commission Chornobyl Shelter Project is in Darmstadt, Germany, the week of August 19. Following the Darmstadt meeting, arrangements have been made for U.S. specialists to visit the Chornobyl shelter and/or the offices of the working group leaders and teams. Team visits will include Alliance in France, ISMES in Italy, Ove Arup in Great Britain and INTEC in Spain. The purpose of these visits is to allow the U.S. specialists to become familiar with the specific tasks of the respective working groups. (Dennis Kreid, PNNL, 509-375-2170)

Khmelnytskyy Training Center. The Khmelnytskyy Training Center received a second shipment of Pace soldering equipment and other basic equipment. The basic equipment consisted of Pentium workstations, servers, a color printer and associated equipment to assist in the development of training materials. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

Rivne Full-Scope Simulator. Representatives from Goscomatom and Rivne NPP have agreed that Rivne NPP Unit 3 will be the basis for the full-scope simulator. This allows the project to proceed. The request for proposal for the simulator has been sent to S3 Technologies. (Peter Kohut, BNL, 516-344-4982)

PLANNED ACTIVITIES

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

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 2-7 -- Kyiv and Sevastopol, Ukraine.
Members of the Soviet-Designed-Reactor Safety (SDRS) project team will meet with the Ukrainian State Committee on Nuclear Power Utilization to discuss the pilot projects for safety analysis that will begin at designated plants in Ukraine. Details of the scope of work for the safety analysis project at South Ukraine Unit 1 will be discussed with plant staff and their consultants. In Sevastopol, the team will meet with the Sevastopol Institute of Nuclear Power and Industry to discuss their involvement in plant safety analysis and training support for NPP staff. (Christian Kot, ANL, 630-252-6151)

*Sept.2-13 --Balakovo NPP, Russia.
Three pilot training programs will be implemented during the second week of this two-week session at Balakovo NPP. Pilot courses to be implemented include electrical maintenance, simulator instructor, and a management overview course for mid-level managers at the Balakovo NPP. The U.S. provided special Heathkit training equipment for the electrical maintenance pilot program, which focuses on problems with automatic bus transfer and repair of thyristors. These items have been ongoing problems at the VVER-1000 plants. Personnel from the Minatom Institute for Training are being invited to attend the pilot management course. The institute plans to develop a management training program for all NPP managers and will review the course for use in the basic NPP management training program. (Sonja Haber, BNL, 516-344-3575)

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

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 14-20 -- 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 14-21 -- Ignalina NPP, Lithuania.
Members of the U.S. project team will visit Ignalina NPP to reach agreement on the design, manufacture, and testing of two prototype analog-to-relay electronic modules. These modules will help establish a more reliable instrumentation and control system. (Norm Fletcher, DOE, 301-903-3275)

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 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 -- Place 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 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (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. (Kent Faris, PNNL, 509-509-372-4068)

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)

December 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.