On April 22, 2016, the representatives of the Board of governors for the World Association of Nuclear operators have paid a visit to both the operating and the undergoing construction power blocks of the Leningrad NPP to learn more about its service and the best practices in security.

Vladimir Pereguda, the Leningrad NPP director, has told his guests from Japan, Hungary, Belgium, the USA, the United Kingdom, China, and Spain about the modern technologies used when exploiting the existing and constructing the new power blocks, and about the radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel handling system. The visitors have also had a chance to witness the key processes of erecting the first and the second VVER-1200 power blocks.

Obu Etsudzi, a scientific researcher from the Japanese Nuclear Security Institute, was highly impressed by what he has seen: “We’ve had a one-of-a-kind opportunity to review how you implement the top-notch technologies when constructing new power blocks. We study a lot the processes taking place in foreign NPPs, including the Russian ones. We have all analyzed the Fukushima NPP accident to see what kind of technologies can be used to prevent such tragedies in the future”.

Meanwhile, Matsuura Shohiro representing the Japanese Kansai Electric Power Company has elaborated on the following: “It’s my first visit to the Leningrad NPP new blocks’ construction site, so I’ve learned a lot about the project of the 1st and the 2nd power blocks housing VVER-120. I was especially keen on learning their technical specifications and to see how reliable and secure those reactors are. In Japan, we service PWRs produced by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which are similar to VVERs. I really liked the way the construction is organized in terms of production, the scope of work, the quality standards adhered to, and the security warranties”.

Yanosh Tota, a representative of the World Association of Nuclear operators from Hungary, believes that the Russian NPPs’ contribution to the global nuclear power development cannot be overestimated. “Russia creates and delivers new power blocks well beyond its borders, just like they did in the Soviet Union. In Hungary, we operate an NPP constructed based on a Soviet project. I can say that both the older-generation technologies and the new VVER initiatives are sustainable and favorable”, he noted.

The WANO Chief Executive Officer, Peter Prozesky, said: “I’m familiar with the Leningrad NPP peculiarities. We learn a lot from each other and exchange best practices on a regular basis. Each nuclear power plant makes its contribution to the World Association of Nuclear operators, which, in turn, aims at accumulating and sharing the know-hows from the nuclear operators all over the world. We share our expertise, which makes us believe we stick to the very best practices in securing NPPs’ operations”.

The World Association of Nuclear operators unites all companies operating NPPs all over the world. It promotes sharing operational experiences and cooperation between its members to attain the highest possible standards in security and reliability when servicing NPPs. The nuclear operators within the association enjoy the spirit of close collaboration and open-mindedness when sharing information and ideas with each other.

The Leningrad NPP is an affiliate company for Rosenergoatom Concern OJSC. The plant is based in the city of Sosnovy Bor, 40 km to the west from Saint Petersburg at the Gulf of Finland shore. The Leningrad NPP is the first Russian nuclear power plant having RBMK-1000 reactors (uranium-graphite channel-type thermal neutron reactors). The NPP exploits 4 power blocks with the electric capacity of 1000 megawatt each. Also, pursuant to the NPP-2006 project, 1,2 VVER-1200 power blocks included into The State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM long-term plan are being constructed. Rosenergoatom Concern OJSC is the owner and developer of the project. Holding TITAN-2 is the primary contractor. ATOMPROEKT is the general designer.

The Leningrad NPP Information and Public Relations Administration.