25.10.2016
Novovoronezh NPP Information and Public Relations Administration
The Novovoronezh NPP: The International insurance inspection experts have estimated the nuclear safety level as “high”
The International insurance inspection made of 11 people, including two representatives of the United Kingdom and China (one for each), have paid a verification visit to the Novovoronezh NPP. The main goal of the visit was to evaluate the company’s insurance risk.
Such inspections are held at nuclear power plants every five years, with complementary verifications in 2 years to see if the risk management recommendations and suggestions submitted by the inspection were implemented.
“Insurance is a business, and safety is the key foundation of this business. That’s the reason why the commissions pay lots of attention to safety evaluation. We have to be confident that the Novovoronezh NPP operates normally. All standards, requirements, and regulations are being adhered to”, Michael Shannon, the British inspector, said. Besides, he noted that the NPP’s safety level is very high, the induction meetings are well-thought, and all activities are well-planned.
During the verification, the inspectors have visited all NPP’s running power blocks, the 6th power block in pilot production, and the 1st and the 2nd power blocks that have been shut down. The guests have also reviewed the spent nuclear fuel storages and the installations for radioactive waste recycling.
“We were happy to see that from the very onset we were provided with comprehensive information in accordance with our questionnaire. That is why we could review both the Novovoronezh NPP’s best practices and its operational bottlenecks. Based on those, we could evaluate the power plant’s activities in an objective and reliable way”, Sergey Babenko, the head of the mission and the CTO of the Russian Association of Nuclear Insurers, said.
He also mentioned that the staff of the running power blocks (the 3rd, the 4th, and the 5th ones) gave precise and detailed answers to the questions. “We can see that they are great hands-on professionals with lots of experience. Their younger associates working at the 6th power block, which is currently in pilot production, did their best to keep up with the colleagues”, Mr. Babenko added.
“The Novovoronezh NPP’s specialists could see themselves from the outside. One can miss some minor details when working for a long time, while the insurance vendors do pay attention to those details. These make a great contribution to the NPPs’ safety”, Elena Emelyanova, the director of the Rosenergoatom Concern’s Treasury, commented.
Based on the outcomes of the inspection, the insurance commission has confirmed that the Novovoronezh NPP’s security and reliability rates are high.
The International insurance inspections held at the Russian NPPs since 2008 are designed to verify the quality of the construction, operation, and maintenance of the nuclear power plants in the country and to prove the professional level of their staff.
The Novovoronezh nuclear power plant is a branch of the JSC "Concern Rosenergoatom". The station is located on the bank of the Don River in 42 km to the south of Voronezh. It is the Russia's first nuclear power plant with VVER reactors (water-to-water power reactors of case type with regular water under pressure). Each of five reactors of the station can be a main one – a prototype of serial power reactors: the power unit No. 1 with the VVER-210 reactor, the power unit No. 2 with the VVER-365 reactor, the No. 3, 4 power units with the VVER-440 reactors, the power unit No. 5 with the VVER-1000 reactor. The first power unit was launched in 1964, the second – in 1969, third – in 1971, fourth – 1972, fifth – 1979. There are three power units (power units No.1, 2 were stopped in 1984 and 1990 respectively) in work at the moment.
The new innovative power units with capacity 1200 MW have been constructed at the construction site of the Novovoronezh NPP since 2007.
The up-to-date information on the nuclear environment close to the Russian NOOs and other nuclear objects is available at www.russianatom.ru
Novovoronezh NPP Information and Public Relations Administration.
Such inspections are held at nuclear power plants every five years, with complementary verifications in 2 years to see if the risk management recommendations and suggestions submitted by the inspection were implemented.
“Insurance is a business, and safety is the key foundation of this business. That’s the reason why the commissions pay lots of attention to safety evaluation. We have to be confident that the Novovoronezh NPP operates normally. All standards, requirements, and regulations are being adhered to”, Michael Shannon, the British inspector, said. Besides, he noted that the NPP’s safety level is very high, the induction meetings are well-thought, and all activities are well-planned.
During the verification, the inspectors have visited all NPP’s running power blocks, the 6th power block in pilot production, and the 1st and the 2nd power blocks that have been shut down. The guests have also reviewed the spent nuclear fuel storages and the installations for radioactive waste recycling.
“We were happy to see that from the very onset we were provided with comprehensive information in accordance with our questionnaire. That is why we could review both the Novovoronezh NPP’s best practices and its operational bottlenecks. Based on those, we could evaluate the power plant’s activities in an objective and reliable way”, Sergey Babenko, the head of the mission and the CTO of the Russian Association of Nuclear Insurers, said.
He also mentioned that the staff of the running power blocks (the 3rd, the 4th, and the 5th ones) gave precise and detailed answers to the questions. “We can see that they are great hands-on professionals with lots of experience. Their younger associates working at the 6th power block, which is currently in pilot production, did their best to keep up with the colleagues”, Mr. Babenko added.
“The Novovoronezh NPP’s specialists could see themselves from the outside. One can miss some minor details when working for a long time, while the insurance vendors do pay attention to those details. These make a great contribution to the NPPs’ safety”, Elena Emelyanova, the director of the Rosenergoatom Concern’s Treasury, commented.
Based on the outcomes of the inspection, the insurance commission has confirmed that the Novovoronezh NPP’s security and reliability rates are high.
The International insurance inspections held at the Russian NPPs since 2008 are designed to verify the quality of the construction, operation, and maintenance of the nuclear power plants in the country and to prove the professional level of their staff.
The Novovoronezh nuclear power plant is a branch of the JSC "Concern Rosenergoatom". The station is located on the bank of the Don River in 42 km to the south of Voronezh. It is the Russia's first nuclear power plant with VVER reactors (water-to-water power reactors of case type with regular water under pressure). Each of five reactors of the station can be a main one – a prototype of serial power reactors: the power unit No. 1 with the VVER-210 reactor, the power unit No. 2 with the VVER-365 reactor, the No. 3, 4 power units with the VVER-440 reactors, the power unit No. 5 with the VVER-1000 reactor. The first power unit was launched in 1964, the second – in 1969, third – in 1971, fourth – 1972, fifth – 1979. There are three power units (power units No.1, 2 were stopped in 1984 and 1990 respectively) in work at the moment.
The new innovative power units with capacity 1200 MW have been constructed at the construction site of the Novovoronezh NPP since 2007.
The up-to-date information on the nuclear environment close to the Russian NOOs and other nuclear objects is available at www.russianatom.ru
Novovoronezh NPP Information and Public Relations Administration.
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