Peter Tarren, chief on operational safety section at the Department of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Nuclear Safety, verified during a visit to the nuclear power plant, that everything is under control at the Novovoronezh NPP.
 
The first study visit of Mr. Tarr, who has been the head of the OSART NVNPP mission since September 2014, was on March 17. Peter Tarren talked about the main directions of work for the section, on how to conduct the mission, commented the changes, which had been made to the methodology after the events at the power plant "Fukushima-1" at the meeting with managers and specialists. In accordance with the program of the visit, guests toured the power unit №5: conducted an inspection of machine and reactor compartments, control room, looked at the building security systems.

"I have a positive impression - summed up Peter Tarren. - It is obvious that very considerable effort and resources were spent to prepare for the mission. I felt that the staff had everything under control in the control room".

"I also had a good impression of the 5th power unit state, the staff - the Mission Head supported the senior safety inspector Dian Z?hradky. - Great work, a lot of manpower and resources to the OSART mission invested, planned works have been completed. "

The Director of the NPP Vladimir Povarov thanked his colleagues for advice and constructive comments. "Preparations for the OSART mission are being continued, - said Vladimir Petrovich - and we will make every effort for scanned objects at the Novovoronezh NPP fully complies with international standards".

The OSART Mission (Operational Safety Review Team) is an independent assessment of the nuclear power plants operational safety. Mission is carried out by experts in the field of nuclear energy in the IAEA member countries. This is a professional «view from the outside" on work at a specific nuclear power plant, which will help to objectively evaluate the overall security, to allow an impartial assessment of the company reliability, with a view to further developing and improving the safety of all nuclear power plants in the world.

The Novovoronezhskaya 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.

Average values of radiation background correspond to level of natural background values in the Central European Part of Russia in settlements of a 30-km zone round the Novovoronezhskaya nuclear power plant.

Updated nformation about radiation situation near the nuclear power plants in Russia and other objects of the nuclear industry is provided on a site www.russianatom.ru.

The JSC "Concern Rosenergoatom" as the owner-developer is doing the construction of two new generation power units at the Novovoronezh NPP beyond the project "NPP-2006" since June 2007. Reactor system VVER-1200 is used at the new NPP. The project complies with all local and international safety requirements. Its main feature is the improvement of the security system, which provides a significant advantage of the project on the security level characteristics.