From March 11 to March 15, 2019, the Rosenergoatom commission, headed Nikolai Sorokin, Inspector General was on a visit to Smolensk NPP. The evaluation of the effectiveness of the developed and implemented activities was determined based on the results of the targeted inspection held last year.

“The overall impression on the nuclear power plant is good, the work took place in design conditions, - Nikolai Sorokin emphasized at the concluding meeting. – We expect that our inspection visit will just strengthen activity level of the Smolensk NPP and safety operation of all nuclear power plants of our company will be improved.

According to the results of the inspection, the commission confirmed that the measures taken during the year at Smolensk NPP became effective. It is about improving the procedure for managing technical documentation at workplaces of staff, improving the quality of inspections and tests of individual systems and equipment, conducting ad hoc trainings, planning and conducting plant walkdowns, recruitment of high potentials for management positions.

As a good practice recommended for replication at other NPPs of the same type, representatives of the inspection services of Rosenergoatom mentioned a system that allows to inspect fuel assemblies using a refueling machine for reuse in a reactor system.

Issues on which further work is needed were also determined.

“For our team, offers and recommendations of the experts are a guide to further work. After a thorough analysis of them, we will begin to develop and implement measures aimed at improving the safety of a nuclear power plant, - Pavel Lubensky, director of Smolensk NPP said at the end of the meeting.

During the visit, the commission analyzed materials presented by the subdivisions of the nuclear power plant, regulatory and technical documentation, production instructions and work programs, performed walkdowns, assessed the correctness of the personnel’s actions in the process of testing the diesel generator-5 on load while operating in parallel with the network and the operation of unit No. 2 in power, during the work on the handling of nuclear fuel and spent nuclear fuel.

The experts conducted interviews with administration and workers, including the heads of the inspection departments; also they took part in production meetings and exams to check the knowledge of staff.

It is worth reminding that the targeted inspection in 2018 covered such areas as “management, organising and quality assurance”, “operating”, “engineering support”, “radiation shield”, “personnel’s professional training and skills maintenance”, “safety culture”.

In the final report, in addition to good practices, experts identified areas that require further improvement. It is about ensuring the reliability of work of the nuclear power plant personnel, handling nuclear fuel and spent nuclear fuel, organizing work on the verification and testing of systems which are important to safety.