IAEA reviews safety at Olkiluoto 3 as commissioning approaches   

28 March 2018


An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Pre-Operational Safety Review Team (Pre-OSART) on 22 March concluded an 18-day mission to Finland’s Olkiluoto 3 where the first-of-a-kind EPR supplied by Areva-Siemens is nearing commissioning after a 10-year delay. 

The team identified several areas for further improvement as operator Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) prepares to commission the unit later this year. The 11-member Pre-OSART team included experts from Belgium, China, France, the UK, and the USA as well as IAEA officials.

The review covered leadership and management for safety; training and qualification; operations; maintenance; technical support; operating experience; radiation protection; chemistry; emergency preparedness and response; accident management; and commissioning.

The team identified some good practices noting that the plant is “developing and implementing an efficient system for improving knowledge and skills of staff members." It also stated that OL3 has developed and validated a unique method for performing suspended solids analysis using a microscope, imaging software and a digital camera. TVO has introduced a system for assessing nuclear safety culture in the plant supplier organisation during construction and commissioning.

Recommendations to improve operational safety included plant management setting "appropriate expectations," communicating them to staff and reinforcing them in the field. The plant should also improve implementation of its foreign material exclusion programme, aimed at preventing potential damage from dirt, debris and other substances. In addition, fire protection and prevention arrangements at the plant should be enhanced.

"Constructing a large, modern nuclear power plant designed for 60 years of operation requires senior leaders to adopt a sustained commitment to nuclear safety for every level of the organisation,” said Team leader Yury Martynenko, Senior Nuclear Safety Officer in the IAEA's Operational Safety Section. “The Pre-OSART team has observed that commitment and has been able to offer practical ways in which it can be enhanced."

Olkiluoto 3 plant management said it would address the areas identified for improvements by the Pre-OSART and requested a follow-up OSART mission in about 18 months.

Olkiluoto 3 grid connection is scheduled for December, with the start of regular electricity production in May 2019.  


Photo: The EPR at Olkiluoto 3 in Finland in early 2015 (Photo: Hannu Huovila/TVO)



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