Volgodonsk NPP is preparing for complex emergency response exercise

01.07.2008 // Information Department of Volgodonsk NPP/Press service of Rosenergoatom Concern

In Sept 2008 Volgodonsk NPP will host complex emergency response exercise

In late June the plant started preparatory exercise. The first such exercise was conducted by the specialists of the Radiation Safety Department.

The next exercise covered the whole plant. It was a very close imitation of a serious emergency and involved the operating personnel, the firemen, the radiation safety and decontamination specialists and the doctors of the plant.

They interacted with the team of the Training Department of Volgodonsk NPP. The emergency was modeled by the full-scale simulator of the 1st unit.

The deputy chief engineer for quality of Volgodonsk NPP Alexander Nezher said that the conduct of such events was obligatory for all the nuclear power plants of Rosenergoatom Concern. The personnel of a nuclear power plant must be always ready to effectively respond to a possible emergency as the key principle of the work of a nuclear reactor is its safety for the people living nearby.

A total of 10 preparatory exercises will be conducted at the plant in June-Aug 2008.

The Sept exercise will be the first complex emergency response exercise at Volgodonsk NPP even though it has long become a tradition for Rosenergoatom Concern. The last exercise was conducted at Leningrad NPP in 2007 with experts from nine countries observing the event. Such exercises are an opportunity for Rosenergoatom Concern and its nuclear power plants to check up the efficiency of their emergency response systems and to improve their international with rescuers. The scenario of the Sept exercise will be made public before its start. For the moment Volgodonsk NPP is getting ready for any possible scenario.