Equipment qualification in VVER-440/230 power plants

The safety nuclear power plants in operation in Eastern Europe has been and continues to be a topic of overriding importance for the European Communities. Early designs of RBMK and VVER-440 type power plants, particularly Model 230, did not take into account several of the safety aspects required in Western designs, many of which have already been considered in the new NPP designs of the former Soviet Union, as in the case of the modern VVER-1000s. To deal with this problem, and as part of the programmes for assistance to Eastern countries, the Commission of the European Communities is financing the execution of projects within the PHARE and TACIS programmes for the enhancement of safety in VVER-440/230 power plants, as in the case of UNits 1 and 4 of Kozloduy in Bulgaria. Empresarios Agrupados, in collaboration with local companies-Energoproekt and Decom-and Kozloduy NPP itself, has participated in this programme with the execution of three projects concerning qualification, through which gained extensive knowledge of the problem (including the drawbacks and advantages of the design) presented by VVER-440/230 power plants with regard to equipment qualification. The paper briefly describes the most significant design aspects affecting equipment qualification, and analyzes the qualification programme considered to be applicable to this type of power plant