R1.03/00

Kalinin NPP is situated in the north of Tver region, on the southern shore of Lake Udomlia, 125 km away from Tver city, 330 km from Moscow and 400 km from St. Petersburg. The plant has three VVER-1000 reactors (1000 MW each). Units 1 and 2 are VVER-1000 model V338, an early non-standard model (so-called 'small series' by the IAEA). These units were connected to the grid in May 1984 and December 1986. Unit 3, a standard VVER-1000 model V320, was connected to the grid in December 2004. The electricity of Kalinin NPP is transmitted to eight regions via two 330KV and four 750KV lines.

The On-Site Assistance (OSA) programmes are a corner stone of the TACIS nuclear safety co-operation with the Russian Federation. Companies or consortia with experience of NPP operation in the EU are contracted by the EC to work on site at a nuclear power plant of the Beneficiary country. The aims are to provide the transfer of know-how, in particular through soft assistance, which addresses the human element of safety (i.e. safety culture, quality assurance, maintenance, management and training,…) and to upgrade the safety of the plant through the supply of equipment. At the time of this contract, OSA contracts were in place at seven NPPs in Russia (Kola, Balakovo, Kalinin, Leningrad, Smolensk, Beloyarsk and Novovoronezh).

The aim of the On-Site Assistance programme at Kalinin NPP was to combine the experience of the OSA Consultant with the experience and needs of the Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) operator in order to:

improve the operational safety of the Kalinin NPP through the transfer of know-how and operational best practice;
identify, prepare and implement safety related specific projects which include the tendering and procurement of equipment required to improve the safety of the power plant.
This contract was a continuation of the previous contracts for OSA to Kalinin NPP (R1.03/97 & 98). The activities to be implemented were organised under three general areas:

General On-Site Assistance

Project Management
General Operational Assistance to the NPP operator
General training and transfer of experience
The following specific training sessions were proposed:
Transfer of experience in use of software for erosion-corrosion follow-up.
Transfer of experience in selecting appropriate means for solid radwaste treatment before final disposal.
Supply of office equipment for the OSA Consultant's 'TACIS' office.

Operational Safety Assistance

Severe accident management guidelines
Support to KNPP and transfer of experience in writing of SAM guidelines, in order to allow KNPP to proceed further in this area, with the support of Russian organisations appointed by KNPP where required.
Management of the implementation of ongoing specific equipment supply projects from the TACIS 93/94, 95, 96 and 97 programmes

Re-tendering of project R1.03/96A "Re-engineering 6kV".
Follow-up of the supply project implementation of all other ongoing supply projects until the end of the equipment warranty period, including (depending on the existing status of project implementation) participation in tendering, contracting, follow-up of manufacturing and related tests, assistance during installation, site testing & commissioning and assistance to the NPP in licensing of the equipment project.
Follow-up of the supply part of the Design Safety project R2.11/94 "Fatigue Monitoring System"
Support to the End-User in documentation check and licensing process.
Comment on the Factory Acceptance Test program and participation in FAT of one OSA Consultant expert and one complementary End-User expert.
Support to the End-User at the delivery stage, including preparation of installation works.
Preliminary Project Planning for the Plant Improvement Project

Continuation of the work started under R1.03/98 on the preparation of the Technical Specifications for the large scale equipment procurement projects:
Supply of a new KTZ (Protection System of the Reactor Coolant System, Turbine and Feedwater pumps) for Unit 1 & 2 of KNPP
Supply of a Computerized Information / Safety Panel (CI/SP) System for Unit 1
Preparation of a Technical Specification for a newly added extension to the scope of the Plant Improvement Project, namely, 'Replacement of the CIS at the Full Scope Simulator'.

General On-Site Assistance

The General On-Site Assistance was performed in accordance with the requirements of the contract.

Under the topic of general operational assistance, it is important to foster a constructive dialogue and good working relations between the EU Consultant and the NPP operational staff in order to achieve a good mutual understanding of plant operational organisation in Russia and the EU. The EU Consultant Team Leader regularly participated in KNPP operation review committees and held regular meetings with the NPP Chief Engineer and heads of several operational departments at the plant.

The following specific training activities were organised and implemented by the OSA Consultant:

A training session related to the program for monitoring of erosion-corrosion in NPPs was organized at the premises of the supplier of the software, with a complementary visit to a Spanish NPP where the program is used. This session allowed the three Russian experts of KNPP to improve their knowledge regarding the application of the program and about the technology for the measurement of pipe wall thickness. The results of the first application of the program at KNPP were discussed and some improvements and recommendations were made. This allowed the Russian experts to improve the application of the program at KNPP and contributed to the sustainability of the project.
A technical visit to Belgium was organized in order to improve understanding of the practical means for solid radwaste treatment before final disposal. The main target of the visit was to make KNPP experts aware of the radwaste management experience acquired by Belgian facilities, in order to help the end-User to make more informed design decisions in the frame of the design of the new building to be erected at KNPP for solid radwaste treatment. Meetings with Belgian specialists were organized during the visits to Tihange and Doel NPPs and to the Dessel facility.
A complementary subject was related to the operational experience in cooling towers. The End-User is erecting two cooling towers close to the plant. A meeting with cooling tower specialists was organized during the visit to Doel NPP and to the research & development centre of the company Hamon Thermal Europe.
Operational Safety Assistance

Severe accident management guidelines (SAMG):

In the framework of the operational safety activities of the previous contracts for OSA to Kalinin NPP, the OSA Consultant and the End-User had collaborated on the topic of Severe Accident Management Guidelines for Kalinin NPP and had prepared a methodology report, with a detailed description of the tasks required, and a 'strategy document' for the development of SAMGs. The OSA Consultant had also provided training to Russian experts for writing SAM Guidelines.

Under the present contract, a preliminary draft of the first guideline on Severe Accident Management was prepared by the OSA Consultant and submitted to KNPP for comments. The intention was that the document would be completed by KNPP according to plant specificities.

Following examination of the draft of the guideline by KNPP experts, it became evident that shortcomings in certain installed equipment at KNPP made it impractical to write detailed SAMGs. The OSA Consultant therefore prepared a new proposal to divide the future work into two steps:

In the first stage, to prepare and issue a handbook for Severe Accident Management dedicated to the management team of the Crisis Centre and taking into account all the results incorporated into the strategy document.
In the second stage, when more information is available and when complementary equipment is installed at the NPP, to start the development of Severe Accident Management Guidelines for the operators.
The work of both stages would be the subject of a future OSA contract (R1.03/02).

An independent review of the 'strategy document' was performed by a local expert from SEC NRS. The comments were recorded, to be taken into account in the frame of the future work on SAMG.

Management of the ongoing specific equipment supply projects

The management and follow-up of new and ongoing specific equipment supply projects was performed in accordance with the requirements of the contract. The status of the ongoing projects at the time of completion of the present OSA contract is given below. Follow-up of the remaining activities was included in the following contract for OSA to Kalinin NPP.

R1.03/94H: Vibration diagnostic: Final Acceptance Certificate (FAC) signed.
R1.03/94G: Safety valves: Equipment delivered; awaiting installation in the next outage.
R1.03/94J: Hydrogen recombiners and monitoring: Equipment installed and Provisional Acceptance Certificate (PAC) signed; Warranty follow-up and FAC remain and some specific software for the monitoring system will be installed in the next outage.
R1.03/95B: 6kV breakers: Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT) performed; delivery, installation, PAC, warranty follow-up and FAC remain.
R1.03/95C: Leak detection systems: Tender evaluation, contract signature and kick-off meeting have been performed in the framework of the present contract. The project is at the manufacturing stage.
R1.03/95F: Morpholine conditioning program: Completed.
R1.03/96C1&2: CAD Configuration & Main Computer System: Contract negotiation, contract signature and kick-off meeting have been performed in the framework of the present contract. The project is at the manufacturing stage.
R1.03/96E: CIS/SPDS: The equipment has been delivered; installation, PAC, warranty follow-up and FAC remain.
R1.03/97A: Neutron Noise Monitoring System: Tender evaluation, contract signature and kick-off meeting have been performed in the framework of the present contract. The project is at the manufacturing stage.
R1.03/97B: SG Feedwater Control Valves: The contract has been signed. All contract activities remain to be performed.
Re-tendering of the project R1.03/96A 'Re-engineering 6kV' was carried out but the tendering was unsuccessful and it was decided to cancel the project.

Follow-up of the supply part of the Design Safety project R2.11/94 "Fatigue Monitoring System" was performed in accordance with the requirements of the contract. The FAT, equipment delivery and customs clearance were performed in the framework of the present contract, and at the time of its completion, the equipment was stored at the NPP awaiting installation in the next outage.

Preliminary Project Planning for the Plant Improvement Project

A subcontract was placed with a Russian design organisation (GET) to prepare the technical requirements for the 'Replacement of the CIS at the Full Scope Simulator'. On the basis of these requirements, the OSA Consultant prepared the Technical Specification. However, following re-evaluation of the required budget for the combined PIP project, it was decided not to include the replacement of the CIS at the FSS as part of the PIP project and not to finance it through the TACIS programme.

Concerning the main parts of the PIP projects, R1.03/02 A (KTZ for unit 1 & 2) and R1.03/02 B (CIS for Unit 1), the Technical Specifications, finalised in the frame of the previous OSA contract, were endorsed by the End-User, Beneficiary and the Regulator. The evaluation criteria for tender evaluation were prepared along with the Tender Dossier. Participation in the tendering stage was included in the following contract for OSA to Kalinin NPP.

Comments

In the final report the EU Consultant noted a number of experiences during project implementation from which lessons could be learned and for which recommendations were made. These were related to avoiding delays in the customs clearance process for imported equipment, ensuring timeliness of budget estimating for PIP projects, the need for coordination of the equipment supply and related licensing processes, both of which are provided with TACIS funded EU support (the so-called '2+2' approach), and the need to maintain the technical support (JRC) to the EC for review and approval of Technical Specifications.