The main idea of the co-operation with near-border nuclear power plants is to familiarise Russian experts with the nuclear safety systems used in Finland. At Leningrad NPP co-operation has been centred in operational safety, fire safety and in the reliability of pressure retaining components. These are the areas where safety risks can be reduced most effectively with disposable resources.
In the autumn of 1992, the operational safety of the facility was assessed in its entirety. The assessment indicated where the Finns could participate in improving work methods. In all the assessed sectors, there was a need for the personnel to use their own initiative and be more flexible instead of just trying to meet required standards.
According to the co-operation programme, the operational personnel of Leningrad NPP has visited Olkiluoto NPP. Visitors have been provided with knowledge which can be used as a foundation for developing operations at Leningrad NPP. There have been seminars on NPP management and administration and on the development of safety culture as well.
Fire experts identified the spots where fire safety must be improved. They made a plan to eliminate the problems. It was presented and explained to the Russians. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) financed a number of safety improvement projects at Kola and Leningrad NPPs based on the plans made by the Finns and Russians together.
By means of Finnish financing, Leningrad NPP has got, for example, manual fire extinguishers and radiotelephones for internal communication at the facility. The fire-fighting equipment of the facility has been modernised as well. The co-operation with Leningrad NPP covers now also the inspection of the condition of electrical equipment.
Finland has provided Leningrad NPP with fire-fighting equipment and outfits. An important part of the delivery is training in the use of the equipment.
At first the work done to improve the reliability of pressure retaining components was concentrated on the ultrasonic and X-ray examinations of the pipework. The ability of the Russian equipment to detect faults was proved to be clearly poorer compared with western equipment. Russian inspectors were not able to interpret the readings of the most sensible equipment. The Russian norms did not require any interpretation or analysis of the smaller readings. The Russian norms just set schematic limits on the starting of repair work.
Consequently, Leningrad NPP was supplied with western inspection equipment. These were ultrasonic equipment, X-ray machines and surface inspection equipment, among other things. The inspectors of Leningrad NPP have been trained to use this equipment in Finland.
The inspections in the primary coolant circuit of the first and second unit carried out by the Finns and Russians revealed quite a lot of small anomalies in the pipework. No general conclusions can be drawn from the condition of the equipment on the basis of this inspection akin to a spot check. The integrity of pressure retaining components were studied together with Russian experts. The objective is to rule out the possibility of a sudden breakage of the pipes in the reactor coolant circuit.
The security arrangements of the facility have been improved. Turnstiles and surveillance equipment, like video cameras, have been delivered to the facility.
The structures and condition of the spent fuel storage have been inspected in co-operation with the Rostechnadzor personnel. The inspection led to liner repair work in the storage pools.
