Upgrading In-Service Inspection of Russian Designed Nuclear Power Reactors

Assistance and cooperation programmes of the European Commission for Russian designed Nuclear Power Reactors have been established since 1991 through the TACIS and PHARE programmes. The TACIS and PHARE nuclear safety programme have been focused on reactor safety issues, contributing to the improvement in the safety of Russian designed reactors and providing technology and safety culture transfer. The main parts of these programmes are related to the On-Site Assistance and to the Design Safety of VVER and RBMK Nuclear Power Plants where In-Service Inspection of the primary circuit components is addressed. This paper gives an update of the TACIS and PHARE projects dealing with In-Service Inspection of VVER and RBMK NPPs, such qualification of the In- Service Inspection for Russian designed Nuclear Power Plants and In-Service Inspection upgraded equipment for RBMK fuel channels and VVER reactor pressure vessel. It details the main objectives and the results obtained.JRC.DDG.F.5-Safety of present nuclear reactor