IAEA: Russia's Novovoronezh Nuclear Plant improves safety standards

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team said late last week that safety standards have improved at Russia's Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant (NNPP).

After a 19-day mission to evaluate the safety level of the plant's Unit 5 reactor, the IAEA's Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) said the facility has been outfitted with enhanced safety features and said the plant intends to add more in the future. The NNPP has been operating since 1964 and currently houses five reactors, with Units 1 and 2 currently undergoing decommissioning activity.

Unit 5 is the Russian Federation's  first 1,000-megawatt pressurized reactor to become operational.

The team praised the unit's advanced chemical techniques to remove radioactive elements from discharged water; the plant’s full-scope simulator, capable of creating conditions that could be present during an accident or another issue with the facility to aid in training; and its techniques to gauge the age of fuel.

“It is clear that operational safety is a key priority at this NPP,” OSART Team Leader Peter Tarren said. “We noted several good practices that could be adopted by other plants to improve safety, another important part of every OSART mission. We also identified some areas where further improvements would be beneficial.”

The team also made suggestions to improve safety at the plant, such as implementing more detailed control practices, relying less on manual sampling and integrating requirements into a single management system.