Inspections at the Loviisa plant in accordance with the operational inspection programme in May–August 2023
During the second third of the year, STUK carried out four inspections at the Loviisa nuclear power plant in accordance with the operational inspection programme. Two of the inspections were carried out at the plant site and two as a combination of remote and on-site inspection, a so-called hybrid inspection.
Security arrangements – information security, 2–5 May 2023
The inspection concerned the information security of the plant in accordance with the focus areas of the inspection. As a conclusion to the inspection, STUK states that, in the field of information security, the licensee’s project management, human resources, competence, training and exercise activities are appropriate and sufficient at the Loviisa nuclear power plant. Good practices were identified in the inspection.
The licensee has plans for the continuous improvement of information security in order to develop the overall safety of the Loviisa power plant, and information security is also taken into account in other development projects at the plant. Modifications and other development targets related to information security of the Loviisa power plant are proceeding according to schedule. STUK monitors these as part of its normal supervision.
No requirements were made on the basis of the inspection.
Safety functions, 2–3 May 2023
The topic of the 2023 Safety functions inspection was fuel and reactor. In connection with these, the criticality safety assessment procedures and monitoring during use of the reactor from instrumentation to simulation and the status of related systems were inspected. In addition, the number and competence of personnel and the status of guidelines were reviewed.
Fortum has developed the reactor monitoring system as part of its own research and development activities, such as studying the impact that updates to the reactor performance calculations have on the calculation results. The status of the automation systems related to reactor monitoring was good: Significant defects, spare part deficiencies or major new development needs were not identified. In accident analyses and investigations related to criticality safety, Fortum relies heavily on subcontractors. As such, the company’s own expertise in this area could be improved, if possible.
There have been positive changes in fuel transfers since the organizational change in 2018. Based on the inspection, the persons involved in fuel handling have a sufficient understanding of criticality safety in the event of accidents. There has been recent turnover in the group responsible for the use of fuel, and new employees are being recruited, which poses a need to ensure the development of in-house expertise in this area.
On the basis of the inspection, STUK did not make any requirements. Based on the inspection, this area meets requirements. STUK monitors the development of the resourcing and competence of the group responsible for the use of fuel in connection with other supervision.
Chemistry, 9–10 May 2023
The inspection covered the licensee’s procedures related to the maintenance of the primary and secondary circuit’s water chemistry, monitoring the radiochemical conditions of the circuits and the water chemistry and radiochemistry of the fuel pool as well as the quality control of laboratory operations. The inspection dealt with human resources from the point of view of adequacy and competence. In addition, the inspection covered the up-to-dateness of guidelines and equipment management of continuous analysers, as well as the use of the analysis results in managing water chemistry and radiochemistry.
Based on the inspection, the number of qualifications managed by the Usage Chemistry organization has been maintained at a good level, despite a lot of recent turnover in the organization. The organization’s resources have been increased to ensure Fortum’s own expertise in areas such as waste analytics.
The quality management of the chemical laboratory is at a good level. The water chemistry of the primary and secondary circuit and monitoring of the status of water chemistry are at a good level. Changes in activity levels have remained moderate. It is important to further deepen the competence of the people responsible for performing activity monitoring by putting into practice the lessons learned from training. On the basis of the inspection, STUK required Fortum to evaluate and, if necessary, supplement the nuclides presented in the annual report from the perspective of verifying the monitoring of radiochemical phenomena.
Safety planning, 22–25 May 2023
The inspection focused on deterministic safety analyses of the Loviisa power plant. The inspection addressed the existing procedures and their development needs related to the validation of computer programs, the development of calculation models, the definition of analysis cases and the processing of analysis results. On the basis of the inspection, STUK did not present any requirements. Fortum has strong expertise in process analysis and the number of experts is sufficient. Procedures for conducting deterministic safety analyses are systematic and well-established.
Inspections at the Loviisa plant in accordance with the operational inspection programme in January–April 2023
During the first third of the year, STUK carried out two inspections at the Loviisa nuclear power plant in accordance with the operational inspection programme. One of the inspections was carried out as an on-site inspection and the other as a combination of remote and on-site inspection, a so-called hybrid inspection.
Radiation protection, 25–27 April 2023
One of the main topics of the radiation protection inspection was learning from operating experiences in the radiation protection area of responsibility. Information was also obtained on the functionality of Fortum's operating experience procedures. With the help of operating experiences, it has been possible to improve, for example, contamination management. On the other hand, scheduling pressures have somewhat reduced the effectiveness of learning from operating experiences.
The inspection also addressed the resource situation of radiation protection and timeliness of instructions, implementation of the ALARA action plan, alpha radiation measurement programme, formal self-assessment of radiation protection and other topical issues as well as the status of measures in ongoing development areas.
As a conclusion to the inspection, STUK states that Fortum is investing in the development of radiation safety and operations in accordance with the ALARA principles. In the audit, STUK required Fortum to provide a summary of the fulfilment of the requirements of the YVL Guides for the rooms below the spent fuel storage building (so-called sand rooms) after the ongoing leakage control line improvements as well as information on the activity measurements of the filters of the air-conditioning machines in the chemical laboratory.
Security arrangements – physical protection, 25–26 April 2022
The inspection focused on the security arrangements of the facility, which are considered to include structural, technical, operational and organizational arrangements to detect, delay and prevent unlawful or unauthorized activities.
As a conclusion to the inspection, STUK states that, in the security arrangements, the licensee's human resources, competence, training and exercise activities and the timeliness of the instructions are appropriate and sufficient at the Loviisa nuclear power plant. A number of good practices were detected during the inspection. STUK monitors the progress of matters recorded as observations as part of its normal supervision.
The licensee also has adequate plans for the continuous improvement of security arrangements to ensure the safety of the Loviisa power plant. Modifications and other development areas aimed at this are proceeding systematically. STUK continuously monitors these matters as part of its normal supervision.
No requirements were made on the basis of the inspection.