Cernavoda NPP U1 environment management as a support element in promoting durable development concept

The first unit Cernavoda NPP, commissioned on December 2, 1996, with an installed power of 706,5 Mwe, became the most important unit of the Romania's national power system. Since the first year of operation, Unit 1 from Cernavoda contributed with 10 % from total amount of electricity produced in Romania. The NPP Cernavoda reached in last years of operation a high rate of using installed power, around 88-90%. The contribution to this high capacity factor is provided by high quality of the installed equipment, competence in performing operational activities, and correct conduct of operation. Therewith, plant operation is done in accordance with a Quality Assurance Program, based on written procedures in order to ensure that technical, nuclear safety, environment and industrial safety requirements are strictly observed. SNN imposes to Cernavoda NPP a development and implementation of an environment management system in accordance with ISO 14001, a system which was certified in 2003. The Environment Management System developed as per above standard requirements was integrated in the QAP applied to Cernavoda NPP. Based on this policy the following general objectives related to environment were established: 1) to continue improvement of the quality of the environment factors in order: - to maintain the release limits for all types of effluents below the limits imposed by authorization; - to minimize the chemical and radioactive pollution in the area of the NPP. 2) to improve the population protection level, by maintaining population doses at ALARA level. 3) to develop a radioactive waste management in compliance with the best practices in the EU countries, and taking into consideration the evolution of the national legislation, EUC and IAEA recommendations by: - including the spent fuel dry storage intermediate facilities in the radioactive waste disposal system; - minimizing radwaste volumes at source; - minimizing radwaste volumes designed to final storage. 4) to continue improvement of the environment management. Operation of Cernavoda NPP U1 had no adverse effects on the environment. In this context we consider that the nuclear energy is consistent with the objectives of sustainable development related to the creation and effective use of natural resources and their preservation for future generations. Nuclear power almost completely avoids all the problems related to fossil fuels contributing to significant reductions of CO2 emissions. The population dose contribution of nuclear power plant is only a small fraction from the natural ionizing radiation, which is the largest contributor to collective effective dose received by the world's population. Monitoring data from Cernavoda NPP sustain this conclusion. Based on the facts presented above we consider that production of energy using nuclear technologies remains a valid alternative for a clean energy future