IAEA conducts verification inspection of Beloyarsk NPP as part of OSART
YEKATERINBURG. Aug 28 (Interfax) - Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have visited Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) in Russia's Sverdlovsk Region, BNPP's press service said.
The IAEA visited BNPP in order to monitor the implementation of proposals formulated following the results of the IAEA's Operational Safety Review Team (OSART).
"If you read the initial report of the OSART mission to Beloyarsk NPP, you will see that the mission was successful, there were very few comments, and the five comments that were included in the report were not fundamental. Therefore, before the verification check, we could expect that the plant would take these comments very seriously, and during these three days we realized that Beloyarsk NPP took them very seriously and professionally, developed countermeasures and assessed their effectiveness," John Duguid, senior nuclear safety officer at the IAEA and head of OSART at BNPP, said.
The inspection lasted three days. The experts assessed the implementation of new markings in the diesel generator room. They walked around the switchgear with an electrician and reviewed the implemented documents in all areas of the inspection, including training and methodological materials on how to perform inspections and record the results.
The group included three specialists from the UK, France, and Armenia, respectively.
The final inspection report will be approved at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna and sent to the Russian government.
As reported, the IAEA conducted the first OSART mission at the Beloyarsk NPP in 2023, during which safety assurance at the plant, qualifications of personnel, operational issues, and other areas of activity were assessed. The mission was conducted upon the request of Rosenergoatom, the electric power division of Russia's Rosatom state nuclear energy corporation, and the plant itself.
The goal of the OSART mission is to assist countries in improving the operational safety of NPPs and to promote the continuous development of operational safety through sharing international experience.
The Beloyarsk NPP was commissioned in April 1964. The first AMB-100 and AMB-200 power units with thermal neutron reactors were shut down owing to the end of their service life. Power units with fast BN-600 and BN-800 neutron reactors have been in operation since 1980 and 2015, respectively.
