- Status
- Closed
Details
- Nature
Services
- Method of Procurement
(FR2012) (Ext. act) Service - International Restricted Procedure with prior publication (Art. '5.1(a)(i) & 2 RAP)
- Duration
10/11/2017 - 09/02/2022
- Contractor
GESELLSCHAFT FUR ANLAGEN- UND REAKTORSICHERHEIT (GRS) GGMBH
- Project / Budget year
Support to the Regulatory Authority of Turkey / 2016
Summary
The overall objective of the project is to strengthen the technical capabilities of the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK) in bringing it broadly in accord with best international and European practice. More specifically, the purpose is to enhance competence and capabilities within TAEK in regulating the safety of nuclear power plants in the following areas: in-house training capability related to the licensing process for nuclear installations, deterministic and probabilistic safety analyses, manufacturing and construction inspections and an integrated management system.
Background
The Republic of Türkiye has developed a nuclear power programme, including two
nuclear power plant projects – Akkuyu and Sinop. Four VVER1200 reactors have
currently been under construction at the Akkuyu site since 2017.
The existing legislation of Türkiye related to nuclear and radiation safety,
safeguards and physical protection has mostly been based on relevant IAEA Safety
Standards and international conventions. Since Türkiye has also been an EU
membership candidate, some regulations needed to be revised to make them fully
compliant with the EU acquis and/or EU practices. New regulations and guides
were also needed as the Turkish nuclear power programme was evolving.
In 1982, the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK) was established to
undertake all regulatory activities concerning nuclear safety and security, radiation
safety, radioactive waste safety, transport safety and safeguards. This regulatory
body was under a direct supervision of the prime minister. The nuclear regulatory
functions of TAEK were executed by its Department of Nuclear Safety (DNS).
In 2018, a new independent Nuclear Regulatory Autority (Nükleer Düzenleme
Kurumu – NDK) was established according to a new Turkish legislation. It also
establised a special company called Nükleer Teknik Destek Anonim Şirketi
(“NÜTED”) to provide a necessary technical support to the NDK. The NDK was
supposed to be a majority owner of the NÜTED.
Objectives
The overall objective of the project was to enhance competence and strengthen
technical capabilities of the Turkish nuclear regulatory authority in regulating safety
of nuclear facilities.
In particular, the contractor was supposed to
• improve capabilities of the regulatory authority in reviewing and assessing
deterministic and probabilistic safety analyses undertaken by licensees within
safety analysis reports
• enhance capabilities of the regulatory authority in performing independent
analyses;
• improve the capacity and capabilities of the regulatory authority in inspections of
NPP component manufacture and NPP construction;
• support the regulatory authority in further development and improvement of its
management system.
Results
The contract was implemented in 51 months from 10 November 2017 to 9 February
2022, including a 15-month extension. The project implementation was interrupted
and delayed several times. The delays and interruptions were mainly due to the
TAEK transformation into the independent nuclear regulatory body Nükleer
Düzenleme Kurumu (NDK) in 2019 and also due to the COVID19 pandemic.
The contractor of this project was the RISKAUDIT IRSN/GRS International until
31 January 2021. As from 1 February 2021, the contract management was
transferred to the Gesellschaft für Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) GmbH.
The beneficiary of the project was the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of
Türkiye. The end user of the project results was originally TAEK. After the
legislation change, the end users became the NDK and NÜTED.
The actual project work was implemented in three technical tasks:
Task 2 - Enhancing capabilities for assessing deterministic and probabilistic safety
analyses (PSA)
Task 3 - Improving manufacturing and construction inspection capacity and
capabilities
Task 4 - Improving the management system of the regulatory body
At the end of the project, the results were presented at a one-day workshop.
Results achieved in the Task 2: Enhancing capabilities for assessing
deterministic and probabilistic safety analyses (PSA)
Since March 2020, task activities were mostly performed using remote tools.
The contractor prepared a report describing approaches and procedures for reviewing
and assessing deterministic and probabilistic safety analyses in Europe and NDK. It
also included analysis of gaps and/or weaknesses in NDK’s arrangements relative to
European and international standards and practices.
The contractor organized a workshop on reviewing and assessing deterministic and
probabilistic analyses. In another workshop, the contractor provided an overview of
computer codes used for safety assessment at IRSN and GRS.
The contractor supported NDK in developing new procedures and guidelines. The
contractor made suggestions on the content and scope of the analysis assessment
process, using examples from European and international practices, and reviewed
drafts of the procedures.
The contactor also organized several training courses for the NDK staff, both inperson
(in Ankara) and on-line. The courses were focused on:
• Nuclear Installations Safety Assessment, general principles and processes
(deterministic and PSA approaches)
• Review of a safety system design
• Methodology, regulatory requirements and design criteria for internal and
external hazard assessment
• Nuclear power plant accident analysis
• PSA main steps, the methodology and specific issues related to PSA
development and application, using PSA computer codes (RiskSpectrum)
• Reactor core physics and neutron calculations
• Assessment of accident’s thermo-hydraulic parameters with ATHLET code,
focusing on VVER-1200 plant model calculations
• Severe accidents analyses using the ASTEC computer code.
Additionally, the contractor organized on-the-job training courses in the above topics
for four NDK experts at IRSN and GRS.
Results achieved in the Task 3: Improving manufacturing and construction inspection capacity and capabilities
A part of this task was also implemented using remote collaboration tools.
The contractor organized a workshop on inspections of NPP component manufacturing and NPP construction.
The contractor supported NDK in drafting regulations for oversight of component manufacturing and construction activities, including the inspection strategy. The contractor also supported NDK in developing guidelines for conducting remote regulatory inspections and audits. The contractor then offered exchanges with French teams in charge of regulatory oversight at the Flamanville 3 (FA3) site and at other nuclear construction sites (ITER, Jules Horowitz reactor). The exchanges included the latest developments, regulatory and technical requirements, major events, major cases of non-compliances, etc.
The contractor organized a number of On-Job-Training (OJT) missions to the French regulatory authority sites in Dijon, Caen and Flamanville. OJT missions were also organized to Liverpool and to the Hinkley Point C site to provide an overview of UK’s regulatory approach to new-build NPPs. Other OJT missions were organized in Lyon and Saint-Marcel (France), as well as in Manchester and Bristol (UK) on inspections performed by third-party organisation in NPP component manufacturing plants. The contractor also observed ten NDK inspections of manufacturing and construction activities in Ukraine (Kramatorsk), Russian Federation (Saint Petersburg) and Türkiye (Akkuyu NPP).
Finally, the contractor organized training courses for NDK staff on:
• Technical background for inspecting NPP construction and component manufacturing to allow developing appropriate inspection programmes. The training focused on inspecting the individual NPP construction and commissioning stages and non-destructive and destructive testing
• VVER inspection methods and techniques, the inspection methodology and decommissioning inspections
Results achieved in the Task 4: Improving the management system of the regulatory body
Also this task had to be partially implemented remotely since March 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.
Within this task, contractor’s experts performed a comparison of the existing NDK management system with the European/international standards and presented the results in a report and a workshop. Based on the comparison, the contractor prepared an action plan/road map for NDK to develop an integrated management system (IMS) for regulating nuclear safety.
The contractor organized a training course and missions in Ankara, both in person and remotely. They were aimed at supporting NDK in developing the IMS structure and the first draft of IMS templates and management processes and procedures.
The contractor also organised several OJT missions for qualified NDK staff members at nuclear regulatory authorities in Bulgaria, France and Sweden. The OJT missions gave the participants hands-on experience in using an IMS in support of the regulatory activities.