IAEA Concludes Operational Safety Review Mission to Kola 3 and 4 Nuclear Power Plant | WPN World People News

An IAEA-led international team of nuclear safety experts noted a series of good practices and made recommendations to reinforce some safety measures during a review of operational safety at the Russian Federation’s Kola 3 and 4 Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) that concluded.

The Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) was assembled at the request of the Russian Federation. The in-depth review, which began 11 November, focused on aspects essential to the safe operation of the NPP.

The review covered the areas of management, organization and administration; training and qualification; operations; maintenance; technical support; operating experience; radiation protection; chemistry; and severe accident management. The conclusions of the review are based on the IAEA Safety Standards.

The OSART team identified good practices at the plant, which will be shared by the IAEA with the nuclear industry worldwide. Examples include:
•The plant liquid waste treatment facility, which is applying advanced technologies for waste reduction;
•The involvement of psychologists in operator training to help them address stress and complex situations; and
•Use of an on-line snow load monitoring system to protect buildings containing safety related equipment in case of extreme weather.

The team identified a number of proposals for improvements to operational safety at Kola 3 and 4 NPP, including:
•Enhancement of the plant’s system of performance indicators to facilitate close monitoring of safety;
•Strengthening plant operational procedures and practices; and
•Improvement of the plant chemistry control programme.

The Kola 3 and 4 plant management expressed a determination to address all the areas identified for improvement and requested the IAEA to schedule a follow-up mission in approximately 18 months.

The team handed over a draft of their recommendations, suggestions and good practices to the plant management in the form of “Technical Notes” for factual comments. The technical notes will be reviewed at IAEA headquarters and the final report submitted to the plant Nuclear Safety Authority, and the Government of the Russian Federation within three months.

The team comprised experts from Bulgaria, Belgium, China, the Czech Republic, South Africa, the Slovak Republic, the United Kingdom, and the IAEA.

This was the 181th mission of the OSART programme, which began in 1982.

Background

General information about OSART missions can be found on the IAEA Website.

An OSART mission is designed as a review of programmes and activities essential to operational safety. It is not a regulatory inspection, nor is it a design review or a substitute for an exhaustive assessment of the plant's overall safety status.

The IAEA Nuclear Safety Action Plan defines a programme of work to strengthen the nuclear safety framework worldwide in the light of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. The plan was unanimously endorsed by IAEA Member States during the Agency's 55th General Conference in September 2011. The Action Plan recommended: "Each Member State with nuclear power plants to voluntarily host at least one IAEA Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) mission during the coming three years, with the initial focus on older nuclear power plants. Thereafter, OSART missions are to be voluntarily hosted on a regular basis."

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency