U1.01/06A2 Rovno Retrieval Facility - lot 1

In the framework of the TACIS 2006 Programme, the European Commission agreed with NAEK-Energoatom and Rivne Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) on the funding of the Solid Radioactive Waste Treatment Project for RNPP (hereafter SRWT project), which included the design, purchase and installation of equipment for the retrieval and the treatment of solid radioactive waste on the Rivne NPP site.

The objective of the Solid Radioactive Waste Treatment project was to resolve the issues of treatment of solid radioactive waste, whether already accumulated or to be produced during plant operation. The project enabled RNPP to produce waste packages meeting the acceptance requirements for storage, in accordance with IAEA recommendations and with norms and regulations in force in Ukraine. The SRWT facilities to be installed on the RNPP site, aimed at:

• reducing the volume of solid radioactive wastes,
• conditioning them for safe interim and long term storage

The SRWT facility had to fulfil the following main functions:

• Waste retrieval from the vaults located in 2 storage buildings
• Preparation of waste retrieved from the storage building vaults, if needed, before transportation to the rad-waste treatment building,
• Waste transportation to the rad-waste treatment building (RNPP responsibility),
• Waste acceptance and treatment,
• Waste sorting and cutting; placement into drums,
• Solid waste volume reduction
• Waste drying in drums, if necessary,
• Gamma activity measurement of the drums and radiation monitoring inside the SRWT process,
• Waste package preparation for interim and long-term storage

The TACIS-financed contribution to the SRWT process line was split into 4 lots:

• Lot 1: Retrieval facility.
• Lot 2: Sorting and Fragmentation facility.
• Lot 3: Super Compaction facility.
• Lot 4: Activity measurement (spectrometry).

The present project covered the supply of Lot 1: Retrieval Facility

• The Retrieval Facility and its equipment are part of the integrated solid waste treatment process for RNPP.
• The retrieval facility is designed as a shielded cell with a set of equipment for solid rad-waste retrieval and preparation of their transportation to a rad-waste treatment building. The cell had to be movable, in order to be transferred from one pit to another in the storage building as well as to another storage building after disassembling.
• Depending on the waste dose rate, the following solid waste management procedure was adopted:
  • Waste with a dose rate below 280 μGy/h at a distance of 10 cm is placed in 2,0 m3 transport package and is sent to the conditioning facility.
  • Waste with a dose rate above 280 μGy/h at a distance of 10 cm is placed in a shielded container and is transferred to a dedicated storage pit in the storage building, after installation of supplementary biological shielding to be supplied by the End User.
• Liquid waste and waste to be pumped is collected, but not treated in the frame of the project.
• Gaseous releases are collected by the process ventilation and will be controlled prior to their discharge into the building’s ventilation systems.
• Installation and operation of equipment is performed in a controlled area. This involves control of personnel and equipment at the entrance and at the exit from the working area.

The project included:

• supply of the equipment
• supply of spare parts
• design, manufacture, acceptance tests, certification, delivery, supervision of installation and commissioning and training of End user personnel.

The first set of Technical Specifications for the project was developed in 2004 under the service contract "Solid Radioactive Waste Treatment for Rovno NPP – U1.01/01B" (Contract 95161). After failure of the tender procedure in 2007 the Technical Specifications were revised under the service contract "On-site Assistance to Rovno NPP – U1.01/06" (Contract 126843) and retendered in 2008.

The contract with the supplier of the system ONET (France) was signed in January 2009. The Factory Acceptance test was conducted in September 2014. The equipment was installed by RNPP under supervision of the supplier ONET. The site acceptance test (SAT) was performed in December 2014 and the Provisional Acceptance Certificate (PAC) was signed after final delivery of the spare parts. The Final Acceptance Certificate was signed following expiration of the warranty period.

The achievement of this project, when the rad-waste building is completed and all equipment (EU and Energoatom financed) is installed, is to ensure the safe handling and storage of radioactive waste originating at Rivne Nuclear Power Plant.