25.10.2018
KOLSK NPP INFORMATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS ADMINISTRATION
Kola NPP: the power unit No 1 has first passed the flushing of the ECCS hydraulic reservoirs to the primary circuit
On 23 October, Kola NPP carried out the first key event leading to the completion of the 1st unit life extension – the flushing of the hydraulic reservoirs of the emergency core cooling system (ECCS*) to the primary circuit.
“The flushing of the hydraulic tanks to the reactor is one of the most important stages of commissioning at the newly assembled equipment of the 1st power unit. The technological operation of the passive ECCS flushing demonstrates the work of the design basis of safety laid in the system”, the Chief Engineer of Kola NPP Vladimir Matveyev noted.
The flushing is provided for by the commissioning program and represents the filling of the hydraulic reservoirs with clean condensate, nitrogen under pressure from 5 to 10 kgf/cm2, and the opening of the fitting to the reactor. The coolant – in this case, pure condensate – is pressurized to the reactor unit by nitrogen.
After this Kola NPP personnel will have to check the reservoirs’ safety devices, their heating systems, and scroll for recirculation. The full complex of commissioning works at the 1st power unit of Kola NPP will be completed by mid-November.
*ECCS is passive emergency core cooling system; it includes four hydraulic tanks filled with an aqueous solution of boric acid. Each hydraulic tank is a thick-walled steel vessel with a volume of 60 cubic meters and a weight of 61 tons. The passive system operates with no staff involvement or external energy sources. When the pressure in the primary circuit drops below a certain level, the boron-containing water is automatically fed into the reactor and its core is cooled.
The latest update on the radiation situation near Russian NPPs and other facilities of the nuclear power industry can be seen at www.russianatom.ru
Kola NPP is a branch of Rosenergoatom JSC (a part of Rosatom’s largest division – the Electric Power Division). The Plant is situated 200 km South of Murmansk at the shore of Lake Imandra. It generates about 60% of Murmansk Oblast electric power. It has 4 power units with VVER reactors with capacity of 440 MW each. Kola NPP is the supplier of electric power for Murmansk Oblast and Karelia.
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