IAEA team visits Bangladesh’s preoperational nuclear plant

An IAEA team conducted a pre-operational safety review team (Pre-OSART) mission on August 10–27 at the request of the Bangladeshi government prior to the plant’s planned commercial operation.

Pre-OSART missions, which use IAEA safety standards to evaluate safety performance, are designed to assess a plant before its first fuel loading.

Stats: The Rooppur nuclear power plant is in the Pabna district on the banks of the Padma River, about 100 miles northwest of Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital city. The plant is owned by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission.

Rooppur consists of two units, both VVER-1200 reactors. First concrete for Rooppur-1 was poured on November 30, 2017, and for Unit 2 on July 14, 2018.

When completed, the Rooppur plant will add a total of 2,400 MWe to Bangladesh’s energy grid.

The review: The Pre-OSART team reviewed operating practices of Unit 1 in the areas of leadership and management for safety, training and qualification, operations, maintenance, technical support, operating experience, radiation protection, chemistry, emergency preparedness, accident management, and commissioning. The team commented that the plant operator should continue to improve safety in fire prevention and response arrangements, as well as in the supervision of plant operations.

The team was made up of 14 experts from Bulgaria, China, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It also included IAEA staff members and one observer from the Russian Federation.

Prior to the mission, the team reviewed documents from the Rooppur plant on its main technical features, staff organization and responsibilities, and its arrangements for operations.

Findings: During the mission, the team observed the plant’s commissioning and preoperational activities and held in-depth discussions with plant personnel.

According to the IAEA, the team determined that the plant staff are knowledgeable, professional, and committed to improving the operational safety and reliability of the plant. The team also indicated that the technical exchanges with the plant’s staff were of good value and that there was a good exchange of experience and knowledge on how the common goal of excellence in operational safety could be enhanced.

“The transition from commissioning to operations is one of the most important stages for the safe operation of a nuclear power plant,” said Simon Morgan, IAEA senior nuclear safety officer. “The team observed a commitment from the plant management to assure that all the required prerequisites are in place to enable this transition to take place safely and in accordance with national and IAEA standards.”

The team identified areas of good practice to be shared with the nuclear industry globally, notably the Rooppur training center’s integration of a state-of-the-art simulator to train refueling machine operations.

The team provided a draft report of the mission to the plant’s management, which will have the opportunity to make comments on the draft. The comments will be reviewed by the IAEA, and a final report will be submitted to Bangladesh.

Background: The IAEA safety standards provide a framework of fundamental principles, requirements, and guidance to ensure safety. The standards reflect an international consensus and serve as a global reference for protecting people and the environment from the harmful effects of ionizing radiation.

General information about OSART missions can be found on the IAEA website.