The UK’s AEA Technology is supplying software to Slovakia to operate its Bohunice nuclear plant to improved safety standards.
PSA Tools for Managers (PTM) and SOLOMON software were used at the plant as part of a European Union sponsored study to enable Slovakian engineers to improve investigation of the adequacy of safety measures at the plant.
PTM is able to carry out probabilistic safety assessment on all components in the plant and provide information on when they need to be tested or replaced. The program warns engineers if they are not checking a particular component often enough but also advises them if fewer checks are needed, allowing them to concentrate on more important work.
SOLOMON has also been used at Bohunice to help engineers plan to deal with various difficulties which might arise. The software can display what may happen if there was a problem with a nuclear core and to identify how radiation might leak. It helps make sure they always have the information they need to contain radiation. SOLOMON is being used by the French nuclear industry.