Ways of decreasing the labour content and construction duration for the RBMK-1000 NPP

Problems associated with reducing the labour content and duration of construction for the RBMK-1000 NPPs are considered. General and specific labour contents for construction of the first units at the Kursk and Chernobylsk, NPPs as well as progress chart for construction-installation work at the 1-st unit of the Smolensk and 3-d unit of the Chernobylsk NPPs are presented. The analysis has shown that reduction in the general labour costs and therefore, duration of construction can be attained by reducing the number of auxiliary objects, increasing the level and mechanization of construction (with optimum utilization of gantry and turret cranes) as well as by mechanization of placing concrete mortars and use of large-block structures. According to preliminary calculations, the introduction of new solutions would ensure reduction of construction periods to 24 months for the second units and reduction of labour content by 8 to 10% at the Kursk and Chernobylsk NPPs