An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts said the operator of Finland’s Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) demonstrated a commitment to safety. The team also identified areas for further enhancement.
The Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) concluded an 18-day mission on 22 March to Loviisa NPP. OSART missions aim to improve operational safety by objectively assessing safety performance using the IAEA’s safety standards and proposing improvement where appropriate.
“The team observed that the plant has made proactive safety improvements in recent years, such as major automation modifications and updates for safety systems,” said team leader Fuming Jiang, a Senior Nuclear Safety Officer at the IAEA. “Staff at the plant are open and transparent, and very receptive to proposals to further improve operational safety in the plant.”
The 16-member team comprised experts from Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Russia Federation, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Spain, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America as well as IAEA officials.
The review covered the areas of leadership and management for safety; training and qualification; operations; maintenance; technical support; operating experience; radiation protection; chemistry; emergency preparedness and response; accident management; human, technology and organizational interactions; and long-term operation.
The team identified a number of good practices that will be shared with the nuclear industry globally, including:
- The plant has developed the capability to automatically calculate leak rate tests of containment.
- The plant established a process to test and improve modifications and updates early.
- The plant has adopted a key system to effectively control access to various rooms in the plant.
The mission made several proposals to improve operational safety, including:
- The plant management should improve communications of their expectations and consistently reinforce their implementation in the field.
- The plant should improve maintenance activities and procedures to ensure safe and reliable performance of systems and equipment.
- The plant should improve the use of human performance tools to minimize human error.
“We consider international peer reviews to be an important element in improving nuclear safety. Exchanging best practices and learning from other plants is highly valuable for all of us in the nuclear industry,” said Satu Katajala, the Loviisa plant manager. “The results and development areas of this OSART review will be included in the continuous improvement of the Loviisa power plant operations.”
See full IAEA press release.
More information:
Thomas Buddas, Deputy manager, Loviisa nuclear power plant, tel. +358 50 455 3710