The foreign experts visiting the complex emergency response exercise (ERE)* at the Beloyarsk NPP have highly praised its accident-prevention preparedness. Over 20 foreign observers from France, Germany, South Korea, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Belarus have attended the exercise.

Frederique Mariotte, the executive security and crisis management director of the French nuclear power commissariat, said: “Different types of forces were cooperating, including military units , the NPP’s staff and the management, the nuclear power plants’ emergency assistance group**, and the city administration. They all did a great job. I was interested to see the way the Ministry of Civil Defense and Emergency Response operate on the national level. Scientific institutes were also involved providing technical support. I can say that the level of emergency response at the NPP is extremely high”.

Doctor Kim from the Korean institute of nuclear safety participated in the exercise as a foreign observer for the first time, so he shared his experience: “South Korea is the 6th nuclear power nation in the world, and we conduct such trainings, too; however, ours are on a smaller scale. We were greatly impressed by the scope of the exercise and the number of personnel and equipment involved. On the first exercise day, we could see the way the Rosenergoatom Crisis Center in Moscow operates. I was astonished at how around 20 organizations cooperate in the real time, the way they exchange technical data, scientific recommendations, and the way they respond to current events. It’s amazing! During the second exercise day, we were impressed by how all departments and functional groups work closely together and the way they act and report to the crisis center”.

The most comprehensive complex emergency response exercise involving the nuclear power plants’ emergency assistance group took place on September 21-22, 2016, at the Beloyarsk NPP covering both the nuclear power plant and the city of Zarechnyy (Sverdlovsk Region).

The exercise aims at verifying the team’s accident-prevention preparedness and mastering the cooperation between special units, troops, and services of multiple ministries and agencies working together on emergency management and population protection.

It is important to note that the exercise scenario was based on the almost impossible combination of several unfavorable circumstances – natural disasters, power blocks’ system failure, etc.
During the exercise, the 4th power block with a new-generation BN-800 reactor has re-confirmed its unique inherent safety***.

* The complex emergency response exercise is a major training taking place annually at one of the Russian NPPs (the Rosenergoatom Concern’s affiliate companies). The goal of the exercise is to verify emergency preparedness and to practice cooperation between special brigades, troops, and teams of different ministries and agencies aimed at emergency response and civil protection. Many countries hosting nuclear power plants carry out such exercises; however, the Russian one boasts special cooperation scale and a great number of bodies involved. The previous complex emergency response exercise was held at the Beloyarsk NPP in 2004.

** The nuclear power plants’ emergency assistance group is a team of highly skilled specialists representing multiple governmental ministries and agencies. It was established in 1987 based on the joint order of the CPSU Central Committee and the USSR Council of Ministers with a view to introducing a special service that can render emergency assistance to any Russian NPP. With that in mind, the group analyzed the sad experience of Chernobyl and studied all the international practices in establishing similar centers. Back in 1995, the nuclear power experts started working together with the flight operations center. Besides, to get as many details as possible on the counter-emergency planning and emergency response best practices, they visited all major nuclear power centers in the world.

*** The BN-800 inherent safety: if the power block fails to operate normally, it stops the nuclear reaction by itself due to the natural laws, even if it doesn’t get any order to do so automatically or from a human being. The reactor’s vessel is not under high pressure (it’s just a little bit higher than the atmosphere pressure) and contains two interleaved units (the main one and the supplementary one). Besides, the reactor has an integral packaging, with all first-contour equipment exposed to radiation being covered by the vessel. The reactor’s coolant – liquid sodium – has high heat capacity and high thermal stockage, so it can cool the reactor down for several days even if it runs out of coolant.

The Beloyarsk NPP was launched operational in April 1964. Its first power blocks running AMB-100 and AMB-200 slow-neutrons reactors have already been stopped, so it only operates a BN-600 reactor. A power block with a fast-neutrons’ BN-800 reactor is being prepared for commissioning.

During the exercise, the Beloyarsk NPP’s power blocks operated normally. No exercise-related interferences were planned or introduced.

The up-to-date information on the nuclear environment close to the Russian NOOs and other nuclear objects is available at www.russianatom.ru


The Information and PR Department of the Beloyarsk NPP.