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NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2015
A More...
When we decide that we are ready to
generalize this design informed review,
it will concern all about that. The pre-
startup review is only for the new reactors,
and the idea of this pre-startup review is
to carry out peer reviews, kind of station
peer review, but before first criticality and
usually even before the first fuel loading,
to check with the specific review of the
new reactor, that the operator is ready
enough and trained enough. For example
all the procedures, documents are ready
and so on, and we carry out for every new
reactor these pre-startup reviews. It is
not focused on design. It is more on the
preparation of the operating staff of the
plant.
4.
Describe the lessons learned from
pre-startup peer review program.
The Hong Kong office was created
three years ago to coordinate this pre-
startup peer review program, because
most of the new reactors are in Asia, and
we wanted this local office to organize or
coordinate this pre-startup peer review
program. And I think it’s doing well.
We counted out around, I think, more
than 25 pre-startup peer reviews, and we
learned a lot from these reviews, but also
we learned a lot about the process, and
we’ll probably share these three years of
experience and feedback in a conference
in July 2015, probably in China. We’ll
share the first results of this methodology,
how it works, this methodology of pre-
startup peer reviews, what is the added
value of that, how can we still improve
this specific review.
5.
Do thepost-Fukushimamodifications,
including equipment and processes at the
plants increase WANO’s review scope?
Not specific or added reviews or
inspections or missions, but most of these
modifications were carried out taking
into account the feedback of the accident
itself. And after the accident, WANO
issued several Significant Operating
Experience Reports (SOER). And in
each of the SOERs after Fukushima,
we made recommendations. During the
station peer review, we systematically
check that the recommendations that
were included in the SOERs are indeed
taken into account by the plant ensuring
that they implemented the improvements
for technical modifications that were
recommended. During the normal peer
review, we check how they took into
account all these post Fukushima SOERs.
6.
Please give me an overview of
WANO’s program.
There are four main technical
programs. The most well-known
program is the peer review program. The
peer review program includes station peer
reviews, corporate peer reviews and pre-
startup peer reviews.
The second program, operating
experience, is fundamentally based on
the events reported by the members, the
analysis done byWANO and the feedback
given to all the members through SOERs
or SERs. And the idea is really to take all
the useful knowledge and feedback of the
events occurring on the world fleet.
The third program is professional
and technical development, which covers
mainly all the WANO conferences that
we organize. For example, the BGM,
and also the station director and site of
VP conference every two years. We also
have in the different regions training
courses for CEOs and site VPs.
And the last, is the technical support
and exchange. In this program you have
the best practices projects, where we
send to all our members, the list of what
is considered actually good practice, the
key performance indicators, in order to
benchmark performance and the safety
results of all the plants. So, all of these
kind of things are inside technical support
and exchange, including potential focused
technical support missions. It is in fact
different kind of things for additional
technical support, that we try to bring to
our members.
These are the main four technical
programs at WANO and in the London
office we have a program director for
each. And in the regions there is also
somebody in charge of implementing
these programs in the field with the
different members in the regions.
7.
How does WANO handle crisis
management at the plants?
WANO tries to organize support
for the crisis management, because the
operator is in charge, basically, of safety,
and he’s in charge of managing the plant
in an emergency situation, but from our
regions, our regional center, we can
organize support and bring expertise and
information to the plant or to the operator
of the plant. We’re trying to organize in
an emergency situation the support from
the regional centers. It can be technical
support and expertise from a regional
center to the operator of the plant in
emergencies.
And also, in the long-term, and mid
and long-term, we can also organize
support and physical support to the plant,
for example to present some components
or materials or even, resources if they are
in need, but it is more in the long term of
the emergency situation management.
Basically the operator in charge
of nuclear safety in any situation and
of course in emergency situation, but
we also try to organize the information
inside WANO and to support from the
WANO community to the operator in
the crisis period. WANO London Office
also acts as the conduit of information
and communication channel between
the affected Regional Centre (which has
direct contact with the plant experiencing
an emergency situation) and the rest of
the worldwide membership.
8.
Define WANO’s cooperation with
NEA, and IAEA?
We have a memorandum of
understanding with IAEA, but it is
not especially focused on emergency
situations, but generally speaking good
coordination of the WANO programs and
the IAEA programs or actions. We try to
coordinate, for example, their Operational
Safety Review. Team (OSART) programs
with our peer review programs, not to
have the same year an OSART or a peer
review for the same power plant, because
it’s too much a burden for the plant. We’ll
try to share the information about the
events reported. IAEA is preparing a full
scope report concerning all the feedback
of Fukushima, four years after. We work
with them on that, but there is no specific
focus or coordination on emergency
situations.
WANO is dealing with the operators,
its members. IAEA is supporting the
