An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Pre-Operational Safety Review Team (Pre-OSART) team of experts said the operator of the Rooppur NPP in Bangladesh is committed to further enhancing its operational safety performance. The team also encouraged the operator to continue to improve safety in areas including fire prevention and response arrangements, as well as in the supervision of plant operations.
The mission was conducted at the request of the Bangladesh Government to assess the safety of unit 1 of the Rooppur NPP, prior to its planned commercial operation. The team comprised 14 experts from Bulgaria, China, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, the UK, and the US as well as IAEA staff members and one observer from Russia.
The Rooppur NPP is in the Pabna District on the banks of the Padma River, approximately 160 kilometres northwest of Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital city. The plant, owned by Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, will be operated by Nuclear Power Plant Company Bangladesh Limited. The plant consists of two units, both VVER-1200 reactors. First concrete was poured in November 2017 for unit 1 and u July 2018 for unit 2. When completed, Rooppur NPP will contribute a total of 2400 MWe to Bangladesh’s energy grid.
The Pre-OSART team reviewed operating practices of unit 1 in the areas of leadership and management for safety, training and qualification, operations, maintenance, technical support, operating experience, radiation protection, chemistry, emergency preparedness, accident management and commissioning.
Prior to the mission, the team reviewed documents from the Rooppur NPP on its main technical features, staff organisation and responsibilities, and its arrangements for operations. During the mission, the team observed the plant’s commissioning and pre-operational activities, examined indicators of its performance and held in-depth discussions with plant personnel.
The Pre-OSART team observed that the staff at the plant are knowledgeable, professional and committed to improving the operational safety and reliability of the plant. The team said that the technical exchanges with the plant’s staff were fruitful and that there was a good exchange of experience and knowledge on how the common goal of excellence in operational safety could be further enhanced.
“The transition from commissioning to operations is one of the most important stages for the safe operation of a nuclear power plant,” said Simon Morgan, Senior Nuclear Safety Officer at the IAEA. “The team observed a commitment from the plant management to assure that all the required pre-requisites are in place to enable this transition to take place safely and in accordance with national and IAEA standards.”
The team identified areas of good practice to be shared with the nuclear industry globally, notably the Rooppur Training Centre’s integration of a state-of-the-art simulator to train refuelling machine operations.
The mission also provided some recommendations to further improve safety, including:
- To enhance the fire safety arrangements and prevention measures to ensure effective mitigation of fire risk and effective fire response.
- To improve the supervision, standards and conduct of plant operations.
- To strengthen the arrangements for equipment preservation during commissioning to ensure adequate protection of systems and components.
“Bangladesh is committed to achieving and sustaining high standards of the operational safety and reliability of its first NPP, the Rooppur NPP. The country is reinforcing the high safety standards for Rooppur NPP by participating in the Pre-OSART mission to ensure compliance with IAEA safety standards for the plant’s construction and operation,” said Kabir Hossain, Project Director of the Rooppur NPP. “This engagement with the Pre-OSART mission demonstrates the country’s dedication to building a safe and reliable nuclear facility and fostering a strong nuclear safety culture. Bangladesh views such IAEA peer review missions as a vital tool for self-assessment, allowing the country to evaluate its adherence to international safety standards and identify weaknesses in the national nuclear programme.”
The team provided a draft report of the mission to the plant’s management, who will have the opportunity to make factual comments on the draft. These comments will be reviewed by the IAEA, and the final report will be submitted to Bangladesh within three months.
