Enhancement of ANPP Safety Culture and Nuclear Safety via implementation of IAEA OSART mission recommendations (A1.01/09 F)

This project is continuation of the EC assistance programme realized under the TACIS programme since 1995 and continued under the INSC mechanism after 2007. The projects of those programmes focused on the enhancement of the operational safety level of Armenian NPP (ANPP), strengthening the safety culture at the ANPP in such a way as to provide an increased level of assurance that the ANPP is operated safely.

In order to verify to what extent the safety level of NPP complies with international standards, the management of ANPP and the Government of Armenia invited the IAEA Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) mission, which took place in May-June 2011. The purpose of the OSART mission was to review operating practices in the areas of Management organization and administration; Training and qualification; Operations; Maintenance; Technical support; Operating experience feedback; Radiation protection; and Preparedness for transition from operations to decommissioning. In addition, an exchange of technical experience and knowledge took place between the OSART experts and the plant on how the common goal of excellence in operational safety could be further pursued.

The OSART team concluded that during the last years the plant has implemented several important safety upgrades. The OSART team observed that the managers of Armenian NPP are committed to improving the operational safety and reliability of their plant. Despite identified good areas of performance, OSART team identified weak points of operational performance, specified them in form of issues and proposed the recommendations and suggestions for their elimination.

This project was initiated as a response to the results of the IAEA OSART mission. The project focused on the improvements of operational safety of ANPP through the implementation of OSART recommendations and suggestions.

A considerable progress was achieved at the Armenian NPP (Unit 2) during the recent period as a result of efforts of the NPP itself and financial assistance of the international community, however some operational practices at the plant are not yet in accordance with the acceptable international standards. The OSART identified several operational issues for which recommendations and suggestions were proposed. Therefore, the overall objective of the project is to implement corrective measures in order to address OSART recommendations and suggestions with the aim to further enhance the safe operation of the plant in line with internationally recognized best practices.

More specifically, the objectives were:

• To improve the plant surveillance programme for systems and components important to safety consistently with best international practices and IAEA standards;
• To update the plant Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) model on the basis of new seismic data (new seismic risk curve) and modifications recently implemented at the plant;

• To improve the quality of the plant operating experience feedback, in particular event analysis and to identify the event direct and root causes in line with the international best practice;
• To enhance the system for monitoring of safety related corrective measures;
• To improve radioactive waste (RAW) management – to develop a methodology for the life assessment of liquid RAW storage tanks and associated enveloping civil structure.

In addition to task 1 on project management and task 7 on final reporting, the project consisted of following five technical tasks:

Task 2: Improvement of the plant surveillance programme;
Task 3: Review and update of the plant Level 1 PSA study;
Task 4: Improvement of the plant event analysis;
Task 5: Improvement of the plant corrective action monitoring programme;
Task 6: Assessment of the plant radioactive waste storage facilities;
The results of the technical tasks are briefly summarised below.

TASK 2: IMPROVEMENT OF THE PLANT SURVEILLANCE PROGRAMME
In this task, requirements and recommendations for the surveillance of safety related equipment were established as specified in the IAEA Safety Standards. A document “Surveillance of systems and components important to safety” (Surveillance Manual) was developed, the existing surveillance documentation was revised, and necessary improvements were implemented. Trainings on the subject were also delivered at ANPP.

TASK 3: REVIEW AND UPDATE OF THE PLANT LEVEL 1 PSA STUDY
In this task, the current status and quality of the plant seismic PSA available at ANPP were reviewed. This included review of the existing model of PSA Level 1 for internal initiating events at power operation, estimation of component and structural failure probabilities (fragilities), and estimation of the frequency of seismic events. The work resulted in an updated plant Level 1 PSA model and a study considering new seismic data.

TASK 4: IMPROVEMENT OF THE PLANT EVENT ANALYSIS
Activities in this task aimed at improving of the quality of the plant operating experience feedback, in particular event analysis and identification of the event direct and root causes in line with the international best practice. The Event Analysis Guidelines of ANPP and the methodology used for the root cause analysis were reviewed against criteria based on IAEA documents, and updated. Necessary improvements in existing event analysis programme were implemented, and trainings were provided to the ANPP staff on root cause analysis and reporting of low-level events.

TASK 5: IMPROVEMENT OF THE PLANT CORRECTIVE ACTION MONITORING PROGRAMME
Activities in this task aimed at improving the plant corrective action monitoring programme in line with the international best practice. The corrective action monitoring programme was reviewed against criteria based on IAEA documents, and necessary improvements were implemented in the programme. A set of key indicators for assessment of effectiveness of corrective measures programme were developed. The implementation of the task was supported by a training on the subject area.

TASK 6 ASSESSMENT OF THE PLANT RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE FACILITIES
The aim was to improve the RAW management, particularly developing a methodology for the life assessment of liquid RAW storage tanks and associated enveloping civil structure. Methodologies for evaluation of tanks and buildings were developed and implemented, and related training was delivered.