8 Jul (NucNet): A safety review of the two-unit Chooz-B nuclear plant in France has noted good practices that should be shared with the nuclear industry, but has also called for a review of the plant’s management process for maintenance and repair.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Operational Safety Review Team (Osart) was sent to review operational safety at the plant at the request of the French government.
The review focused on the safe operation of the plant, including management, training, maintenance, emergency preparedness and severe accident management.
The Osart team suggested that a list of good practices should be shared with the rest of the nuclear industry. They include:
- The plant has a professional development programme, which allows trainees to develop professional capability.
- The response teams of the plant have developed a good relationship with the local fire brigade to allow for better cooperation in the case of a firefighting or rescue operations.
- Operations personnel have “taken ownership” of improvement programmes through a self-assessment group which discusses and resolves specific issues.
The Osart team also produced a list of suggestions for the improvement of operational safety at the facility. They include:
- A review of the management process for maintenance and repair.
- Improvement of the chemistry control programme to cover all chemistry aspects of the plant.
- Improvement of the process of analysis of the root cause of events with significant impact on safety, especially the depth of analysis of such events.
- An improvement of systems to allow a clear identification of deficiencies in the field once they have been recognised.
The suggestions will be addressed by the Chooz-B nuclear plant team and a follow-up mission by the IAEA is scheduled to take place within 18 months.
The next Osart mission in France will be at Flamanville-1 and -2 in 2014.
The Chooz plant is on the river Meuse in the Ardennes department in northeast France. It has three pressurised water reactor units. Chooz-A was permanently shut down in 1991. Chooz-B-1 and Chooz-B-2 both began commercial operational since 2000.
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