While at nominal power effort was in progress to repair the faulty pressure gauge of the main safety valve (MSV) control system of the primary circuit. In the course of this activity 2 MSVs out of 12 opened, and the steam was received by the accident isolation system as designed. Partial steam release to envorinment occurred through the clean air venting facility of the isolation system decay chamber. Permissible limits for activity release to environment were not exceedd. Once personnel activated the lines of forced closure, the above two valves closed. Repair of the faulty pressure gauge was performed without the established work program combined with the failure to take technical measures aimed at preventing unauthorized opening of MSVs. BASIS FOR RATING: Initiator - coolant leak from the safety valve system. Criterion - degradation of defence-in-depth. Intital event - real, potential. Safety function availability: full, which corresponds to level 1/2 (A-2R). The event cause reveals deficiencies in the safety culture. Therefore the higher level out of the above two has been chosen. DIFFICULTIES IN RATING:
A vast subsea nuclear graveyard planned to hold Britain’s burgeoning piles of radioactive waste is set to become the biggest, longest-lasting and most expensive infrastructure project ever undertaken in the UK. The project [UK's nuclear waste dump] is now predicted to take more than 150yrs to complete with lifetime costs of £66bn in today’s money...The […]
Last year, the Dutch Province of Limburg started an alliance in which, besides the local government, research institutes, small nuclear reactor (SMR) developers, utilities, industrial customers and funders cooperated. With this "Limburg SMR alliance" Limburg tried to lead the way towards an SMR in Limburg. The preferred site for a first SMR would be Chemelot, […]
From the IPFM: During a visit to the Civaux nuclear power plant on 18 March 2024, France's Minister of the Armed Forces unveiled a plan to use the plant to produce tritium for the French nuclear weapons program. Civaux is a civilian power plant that belongs to and is operated by Electricité de France. According […]
An analysis by the Norwegian NGO Bellona of transborder trade operations with the customs code 840130 (irradiated fuel assemblies or fuel elements) show a more than twofold increase of import to EU countries of fresh nuclear fuel in cash terms – from 280 million Euros in 2022 to 686 million Euros in 2023. In physical […]
The French government has said it is "seriously" studying the option of building a plant to convert and enrich reprocessed uranium to cut its reliance on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. The only plant in the world that currently converts reprocessed uranium for use in nuclear power plants is in Russia. "The option of […]