CONFERENCE IN RUSSIA EXAMINES POWER PLANT SAFETY: Correcting Some Misconceptions About RussiaÃs Nuclear Industry
Contact: John Varrasi 212-705-8158 [email protected]
May 20, 1997
As American engineers and scientists gather today in Moscow for a meeting comparing power plants in the United States and Russia, what many of them know will likely shatter long-standing assumptions in the Western world.
The current nuclear power infrastructure in Russia is sound and reliable. Furthermore, the safety programs practiced by the engineers of the Russian Federation could be a benchmark for the rest of the world.
ìThe many years of negative PR regarding RussiaÃs nuclear power industry have been focused on a single disaster,î said Walter Mikesell, an expert in the field and speaker at the U.S.-Russian Workshop on Plant Life Extension sponsored in part by ASME International (American Society of Mechanical Engineers). ìRussia has had no safety problems with its pressurized water reactors.î
In fact, say participants at the workshop, Russia can teach other industrialized countries a thing or two about safety, particularly in the area of safety analysis and risk assessment.
ìThe Russians are focused on safety, assess risk very well and understand potential problems in the nuclear facility,î said Russian-born Irina Viktorova, a research scientist at the Russian Academy of Sciences and visiting professor at Clemson University, Clemson, S.C. ìThey have excellent procedures for emergency response.î
In addition to safety analysis and risk assessment, some speakers at the workshop indicated that the Russian Federation has had success with the high-temperature breeder reactor, which is not used in the United States due to strong public-policy factors in the 1970s.
The Russians have also applied thermal annealing to at least one commercial reactor. Annealing is a heat-treating technology which restores the material properties of pressure vessel walls in nuclear reactor facilities.
Russia is not without its problems regarding nuclear power, and at this workshop will seek to gather information on waste management, particularly the storage of high-level radioactive waste, and life extension of their nuclear power facilities.
Regarding life extension, some speakers at the workshop believe American engineers bring expertise in the areas of systems monitoring, characterization of structural damage, testing, and equipment upgrades. Among the topics to be presented at the workshop this week are nondestructive testing of nuclear facilities.
ìThe Russians have indicated a strong interest in the many issues regarding life extension,î noted Carl E. Jaske of CC Technologies, Dublin, Ohio.
Other problems faced by the Russians are political and economic rather than technological. Despite the ambitions if its leaders to install a free-market economy where none existed before, Russia lacks the hard currency needed to improve and upgrade its industrial infrastructure. To generate the money, Russia is learning that it must both increase exports to other countries and encourage foreign investments within Russian borders.
This is why codes and standards is emerging as a critical discussion topic at the workshop. Products exported from Russia in many cases must comply with the codes and standards of other countries. And any U.S. manufacturer or supplier desiring to conduct business in Russia -- such as a nuclear power plant -- must obtain acceptance from regulators who reference the Russian system of codes and standards.
ìThe United States and Russia must work together on harmonizing its codes and standards programs,î said Viktorova.
The full name of the U.S.-Russian workshop is Plant Safety-Life Extension: Forum on Technical Assessment and Safety of Nuclear and Non-Nuclear Power Plants and Petrochemical Facilities. While the focus of the program is nuclear facilities, other topics include material damage in fossil-fueled power plants, refineries, and underground natural gas pipelines. Speakers will discuss technical, environmental, legal and regulatory issues.
The workshop is sponsored by ASME International and the Russian Academy of Sciences in a special partnership agreement funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Sessions began yesterday and continue through May 23.
ASME International is a 125,000-member worldwide engineering society focused on technical, educational and research issues. It conducts one of the worldÃs largest technical publishing operations, holds approximately 30 technical and 200 professional development courses each year, and sets internationally recognized industrial and manufacturing standards.
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