U1.04/07 OSA at Khmelnitsky

European Council Regulation n° 99/2000 on TACIS programme has assumed on-site assistance as a tool for promotion of an effective nuclear safety culture in line with the principles of the International Convention on Nuclear Safety. The on-site assistance (OSA) programme has covered in general organisation of operational safety, conditions of operation, equipment supplies and surveillance of the installations. Starting with the 1998 TACIS Action Programme, a specific scheme for implementation of an on-site assistance (OSA) was established focusing on assistance in implementation of some Plant Improvement Projects (PIP) encompassing the whole range of assistance activities in assessment of safety relevance of project proposals, procurement of equipment, licensing and the installation, personnel training and adaptation of operating procedures. In addition to the PIP support, OSA still had to focus on improvement of operational safety through support of plant management, training, quality assurance, twinning type activities, etc.

The aims of the On-Site Assistance at the KhNPP have been:

1. to improve operational safety of the KhNPP (Soft OSA) through general On-Site Assistance to KhNPP and through implementation of specific operational safety actions including the following specific tasks:

• Development of a system helping main control room operators adequately respond to important MCR alarms.

Risk-Informed optimization of safety system maintenance

KhNPP personnel training in Liquid Radwaste Treatment (Centrifuge) Facility operation

• “Upgrading of Electrical Equipment of Reactor Control Protection System And Neutron Flux Monitoring Equipment” (U1.04/99)
• “Treatment of Backlog of Radioactive Waste Water” (U1.04/93A)

The U1.04/07 project has been implemented in 32 months from 15 November 2008 to 14 July 2011. The Consultant was represented by the consortium of Iberdrola S.A. (Spain) and Sogin S.p.A. (Italy). The subcontractor to the consortium was a local company Proatom developing the alarm sheet based computerized operator information system. In addition, a group of local experts was hired to perform PSA updates necessary for the risk-Informed optimization of safety system maintenance.

Within the first soft OSA task, the Consultant completed development of alarm sheets (a detailed description of alarm background, possible causes and adequate operator responses) of all 3 trains of emergency core cooling systems and developed alarm sheets of other 81 important operating system related alarms at the MCR. Through his local subcontractor Proatom, he developed the alarm sheet based computerized operator information system (a software application) and incorporated all the developed alarm sheets in the application software. System functionality was demonstrated at project progress and final meeting.

Within the second soft OSA task, the Consultant developed a procedure for reviewing the KhNPP PSA and methodological guidance on the PSA update. Based on the updated configuration of unit 2 data; equipment reliability data, transients and incidents data provided by the KhNPP, the Consultant’s local experts updated the existing PSA models (developed in the SAPHIRE code) and created an integrated model PSA and specific procedures for summation of separate risks. The integrated PSA model combined updated basic PSA model (Internal Events level 1 PSA) and supplemental models (External Hazards PSA-1, Internal Fires PSA-1 and Internal Flooding PSA-1) into a single SAPHIRE calculation model. The KhNPP then updated historical data on repair and technical maintenance and analysed which safety systems could be maintained during normal operation instead of during unit outage. Based on these analyses and using the updated PSA models, the Consultant proposed a modified strategy of scheduled testing and maintenance of safety systems at nominal power level.

Within the third task of the soft OSA, the training Liquid Radwaste Treatment (Centrifuge) Facility (LWRT) was delivered to the KhNPP personnel. The LWRT facility was supplied within another TACIS supply contract and only the basic training provided by the equipment vendor. The skills the KhNPP personnel obtained in that basic training were not sufficient to operate the equipment. The training provided within this soft OSA was thus essential for further facility operation and utilization. The training included:

Four Siemens Courses on SIMATIC programming; for each course, an average of 8 plant personnel have been trained for 30 days.
Training on main centrifugation equipment; the training was performed in 5 days: 3 days of classroom lessons and 2 days of practical training in controlled area.
Training on drum handling system; it consisted in 3 days of classroom lessons and 1 day visit to the equipment in controlled area; 1 day was devoted to the examination.
Training on automation system; the training consisted of three classroom lessons and one practical session on site.
On average 25 people have been trained. The trainings were addressed to operators, maintenance staff and software specialists. Instructors of training centre took part to the trainings too. The personnel have been trained to manage the software tools, to update and improve the control system and to perform maintenance on the equipment of the LRWT facility. In total, more than 150 man/weeks equivalent training have been delivered.

The hard OSA to the U1.04/05A Project “Upgrading of Electrical Equipment of Reactor Control Protection System and Neutron Flux Monitoring Equipment” (ex U1.04/99) consisted in participation in all tests, trial operation and preparation of Safety Analysis Report (SAR). The results of trial operation and the SAR have been submitted to regulatory authority and have been approved. Currently, this equipment is successfully operated by KhNPP.

The hard OSA to the Project U1.04/93A “Treatment of Backlog of Radioactive Waste Water“ consisted in repetition of onsite tests of the LRWT facility, in starting the procedure leading to system operation and solving the pending issues. The specific activities included:

Follow up of completion of pending issues by Supplier (supply of a turbidimeter) and assistance in preparation of missing documentation (User manual and Instrumentation calibration guidelines document; plant SAR update)
Successful execution of system test with contaminated media on April 2010 with attendance of Supplier (Ansaldo) representatives.
Trial operation of the system within the performance parameters.
Conclusions

The project has been successfully completed as per ToR requirements and all expectations were met.