Page 9 - May-June 2013
Basic HTML Version
Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2013 NuclearPlantJournal.com
9
Utility,
Industry and
Corporation
Utility
Fessenhe
The French Nuclear SafetyAuthority
(ASN) allows
EDF
to continue operating
reactor Unit 2 at the Fessenheim, France
nuclear power station beyond its third
ten-year inspection.
EDF will carry out the work
imposed by the ASN within the stipulated
deadlines.
This positive operating notification
follows the ten-year inspection conducted
between April 2011 and March 2012.
The regulatory ten-year inspection
consists of an exhaustive “check-up” of
the installations, after every ten years
of operation, carried out under the
supervision of the ASN, and resulting
into a strengthened safety level for the
installations in accordance with the
most recent standards. This shut down,
exceptional in terms of the extent of
the monitoring (regarding compliance
as well as safety) and the work carried
out, provides a means of checking
components that are essential to the safety
of the installations: the reactor vessel, the
reactor building and the primary circuit.
All work required will be completed
within the deadlines fixed by the ASN.
Some work will be completed on the
occasion of the planned outage of reactor
Unit 2, scheduled for July 2013.
Contact: Carole Trivi, EDF,
telephone: 33 40 423 44 19.
Industry
Initial Review
An
International Atomic Energy
Agency (
IAEA) expert team completed
an initial review of Japan’s efforts to plan
and implement the decommissioning of
TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear
Power Station. The International Peer
Review of Japan’s Mid-and-Long-Term
Roadmap towards the Decommissioning
of TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear
Power Station Units 1-4 was conducted
during its visit from April 15 to 22,
2013.
As requested by the Government
of Japan, the IAEA team held extensive
discussions with officials from the
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
(METI) and Tokyo Electric Power
Company (TEPCO). The team also met
with officials of the Nuclear Regulation
Authority. The team visited the nuclear
accident site to gain first-hand information
about conditions at the power plant and
progress toward decommissioning the
facility.
The 13-member IAEA team
examined a wide variety of issues related
to decommissioning the Fukushima
Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, such as
the Roadmap’s overall strategic approach,
the current condition of the reactors and
spent fuel pools, the management of the
huge amount of accumulated water at the
site, as well as the radioactive releases.
In a draft report delivered to Japanese
authorities, the team acknowledged
a number of accomplishments that
have been made to prepare Fukushima
Daiichi Nuclear Power Station for
decommissioning. For example:
Japan has addressed the plant’s
•
decommissioning in a timely
manner, as demonstrated by its early
preparation of the Roadmap and its
acceleration of plans to remove fuel
from the spent fuel pools at Units 1-4.
In addition, Japan has logical and
rational plans for the most complex
task: removing damaged fuel from
the reactors;
TEPCO has successfully deployed
•
advanced and large-scale treatment
technologies for decontaminating
and desalinating highly radioactive
water that has accumulated at the
site; and
TheGovernmentofJapanandTEPCO
•
have recognized the importance of
effective stakeholder involvement
and public communication in dealing
with decommissioning programmes.
In addition, the IAEA team provided
advice in areas where current practices
could be improved. For example:
Launching efforts to define an end-
•
state of the Fukushima Daiichi
Nuclear Power Station site would
help focus decommissioning efforts.
This effort should be pursued with
effective stakeholder involvement;
An assessment of TEPCO’s incident
•
reporting
and
communication
practices - with the government,
the regulator, and the public - could
help to enhance stakeholder trust and
respect;
TEPCO should continue its efforts
•
to improve the reliability of essential
systems, to assess the structural
integrity of site facilities, and to
enhance protection against external
hazards; and
Measures should continue to
•
improve
management
issues
regarding radioactive releases and
radiation exposures from the site,
particularly issues created by the
storage of accumulated water. The
team encourages Japan to assess the
overall benefit of the site-boundary
dose limit, particularly in relation
to the radiation levels at the site
boundary due to solids and liquids
stored at the site.
Contact: Greg Webb, IAEA,
telephone: 43 699 165 22047.
Corporation
Fuel Manufacturing
Facility
AREVA
announced the successful
completion of the annual Licensee
Performance Review of AREVA’s
manufacturing facility in Richland,
Washington. The facility achieved the
highest distinction the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) can
extend to any fuel manufacturing facility.
AREVA’s performance was evaluated
in four major areas: Safety Operations,
Radiological Controls, Facility Support,
and Special Topics. The NRC determined
that, between January 1 and December
31, 2012, AREVA’s Richland facility
operated smoothly and without incident.
The review did not identify any specific
areas needing improvement. This is the
sixth year in a row the Richland facility
has earned a review, with no areas for
improvement.
Contact: Kelly Cousineau, AREVA,
