China hosts largest-ever SCO summit with focus on security, economy    Israel claims airstrike kills Hamas spokesperson Abu Ubaida    RED IN, ACE – Moharram Bakhoum partner to launch JOYA Residence in New Obour    Egypt targets EGP 144.8bn investment in agriculture, irrigation    Egypt's real estate sector anticipates investment surge following CBE's rate cut    British Embassy in Cairo closes after Egypt removes security barriers    Train derailment in Matrouh kills three, injures 94    Lebanese Prime Minister visits Egypt's Grand Egyptian Museum    Global Forum on Nicotine 2025: Experts Call for Strengthening Scientific Communications to Reduce Tobacco Risks    URGENT: Egypt's central bank cuts key rates by 200 bps    Egypt, Qatar PMs hold cooperation talks    EGP closes higher vs USD on Thursday    Egypt reviews progress on Hurghada Green City sustainable tourism project    Egypt to tighten waste rules, cut rice straw fees to curb pollution    Egypt prepares unified stance ahead of COP30 in Brazil    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Fitch Ratings: ASEAN Islamic finance set to surpass $1t by 2026-end    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Nuclear power plant between maintenance and operation
Published in Amwal Al Ghad on 01 - 09 - 2020

Continual maintenance and impeccable operation are two essential pillars at any nuclear power plant (NPP).
In order to ensure maximum safety, reliability, and profitability at any NPP, there's careful, conservative operation, and well-planned measures that should be conducted and pursued. In addition, some procedures should also be taken to minimise risks to workers, the public, and the environment at large. Also, internal and external self-assessments, an independent regulatory body that provides oversight through inspection activities, and enforcement action should be regularly carried out at any well-established and robust NPP.
As a result, the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) safety standards were formed to provide guidelines pertinent to maintenance and operation at any NPP. The responsibility of handling these two tasks, falls upon the organisation that is operating the NPP itself. That is to say, the people working on the workflow at the NPP should be held accountable if any of the safety standards was unheeded, breached, or missed.
It is noteworthy that "IAEA's Safety Standards, developed on the basis of international consensus, address all aspects of safety in the operation of nuclear power plants and regulatory activities. They include requirements for the management of safety and the organisational and technical aspects of safety during the life cycle of nuclear power plants. They include implementing guides for all major types of facilities." Not only does IAEA devise its renowned safety standards, but also it offers relentless safety review services that are in line with their regulations.
To reinforce safety at any NPP, maintenance should always be prioritised. As mentioned before, IAEA plays a pivotal role in ensuring that safety is duly applied. Nonetheless, the organisation that manages the NPP itself, should pay close attention to maintenance. This task encompasses preventive and corrective measures which confirm that all structures, systems, and components are free of error. Later, when all measures of maintenance are abided by properly, and when the NPP undergoes regular safety reviews and assessments, only then its operating licence is revalidated.
Following all the safety measures and standards imposed by the IAEA, nuclear safety standards were radically revised. Suffice to say that today, from 50 percent to 70 percent of costs when building a nuclear power plant are related to implementing reliable safety systems.
Nowadays, modern NPPs, as well as the majority of operating plants, are powered by reactors are pressurised water reactors – the specific reactors in this category used in Russia are called VVER reactors.
The Modern NPP control systems exemplified by VVER-1200, which is chosen for Dabaa NPP, provide automatic error correction for any incorrect actions taken by personnel, this also triggers multilevel protection systems. In addition to modern active safety systems, nuclear power plants based on VVER-1200 of the latest Generation 3+ reactors also have passive safety systems. This means relying on the forces of nature, such as gravity, it neither require a power source nor intervention from an operator or machinery), which completely eliminates the risk of human error and sabotage.
Now that all the fundamental steps were mentioned regarding the maintenance and operation at any NPP, Egypt's Dabaa NPP will host GEN3+ reactor that is the safest technology solely relying on the combination of active and passive safety systems that can prevent from human errors and withstand external and internal hazards without interference for NPP operation.
There are three operational power units in Russia at Novovoronezh NPP and Leningrad NPP based on the aforementioned GEN3+ reactors. Moreover, construction was completed and start-up operations began at the fourth Russian Gen 3+ power unit with VVER-1200 at the Leningrad NPP. The physical start-up of VVER-1200-based Unit 1 at the Belarusian NPP, the first NPP in Belarus implemented by Rosatom, began this August which marks a milestone for the history of Belarus's power industry. This indicates that Dabaa NPP project relies on tested and successfully operating reactor technologies that have demonstrated clear successes.


Clic here to read the story from its source.