International expert team to check safety of Temelin NPP
12/04/2011source: ČTKPrague/Temelin - A team of seventeen experts from eight countries has started checking the safety of nuclear power plant Temelin, southern Bohemia, in a mission prepared by the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO), Temelin spokesman Marek Svitak told CTK.
The control will take two weeks. It will focus on ten areas, among them protection against radiation and fire, plans for case of accidents and operations. The team will then draw up a report with recommendations for Temelin. This is the 25th international control at the Temelin nuclear power plant, he said.
The team is headed by Jan Nano, an expert from Slovak nuclear power plant in Jaslovske Bohunice. To gain information, the experts will visit the power plant´s operations, watch the work of employees and suppliers, take part in meetings of the power plant´s staff, talk with employees and check documents.
"Foreign experts with practical experience from their power plants are coming here. Their opinions are an important feedback tool for us. We also expect recommendations for how to improve some activities and thus improve the reliability and safety of the units a bit further," said Temelin´s director Milos Stepanovsky.
The last time a WANO mission visited Temelin was in 2006 when international experts were checking how their recommendations from 2004 had been implemented. Reps in the mission visiting now are from Slovakia, Finland, Canada, Russia, Hungary, Italy, Bulgaria and Ukraine.
Power producer CEZ runs two nuclear units at Temelin. Construction of the third and fourth units is to be completed in 2025 at the latest. Bids for the order should be submitted next year and the winner is to be picked in 2013.
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