News

17.11.2022

AKKUYU NPP HOSTS WANO SUPPORT MISSION

November 17, 2022, Büyükeceli, Mersin Province, Turkey. – A support mission of the Moscow Centre of the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO MC) took place at the Akkuyu NPP Construction Site to prepare AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC, the Akkuyu NPP operator, for an expert mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The support mission was conducted within the scope of preparation for the OSART mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The OSART (Operational Safety Review Team) Programme is aimed at assessing the NPP reliability and the operator's readiness for assuring the operation quality in accordance with international regulations and standards of the IAEA.

Experts of the WANO MC support mission familiarized the personnel of AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC with the Pre-OSART methodology, shared detailed information on the Pre-OSART/OSART mission, and emphasized the methodology of interaction between the NPP personnel and contracting organizations with the IAEA experts.

Members of the support mission included such experts as Dmitry Chichikin, the group leader (WANO MC); Alexey Tararin (Leningrad NPP); Andrey Smelov (Beloyarsk NPP); Nikolay Kapitonov (Kalinin NPP), Yuri Levchenko (Kolatomenergoremont) and Anrey Andrushkiv (Belarusian NPP).

The mission's representatives visited the Akkuyu NPP Construction Site, checked the current status of preparation for the Pre-OSART, conducted analysis of AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC documents and gave their recommendations.

Sergei Butckikh, First Deputy Chief Executive Officer of AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC – Director of the NPP under Construction, commented on the results of the WANO MC support mission: "Our company faces a substantial scope of activities to prepare for the Pre-OSART. During the mission, the IAEA experts draw their attention to the issues of ensuring the safety and the reliability of NPP operation; review the factors affecting operations of the personnel, the organizational structure and objectives of the company's management; and assess the management level of all NPP processes. We study the most advanced practices and implement the best ones in our company. The personnel of AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC thanks the WANO for the opportunity to interact with highly professional experts of the nuclear industry".

For reference:

OSART missions are conducted to improve the operation safety of nuclear power plants with regard to compliance with the IAEA standards.

Upon request of the Republic of Turkey, the IAEA experts will conduct a Pre‑OSART mission before commissioning of the Unit No. 1 of Akkuyu NPP which will comprehensively cover various fields of activities of AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC and Akkuyu NPP, including commissioning, operation, maintenance and repair, technical support, application of the operation experience, leadership and management, training and qualification, and application of the probabilistic safety analysis.

Each OSART (Pre‑OSART) mission is conducted by a group of experts representing different regions. All of them have a great experience in NPP operation. The guiding principles used for reviewing the indicators of the plant's performance and programmes are based on the IAEA safety standards.