Contingency plans

“A nuclear power plant that produces electricity will not explode like an atomic bomb, because scientifically and technically this is impossible. The connection between a nuclear reactor and an atomic bomb is about the same as that between a gasoline-powered automobile engine and a Molotov cocktail.”

Bruno Comby

With all the precautionary measures taken in the design and operation of a nuclear power plant, there remains the possibility of the appearance of deficiencies or conditions that lead to the creation of emergency situations. Thus, significant releases of radioactive material or exposure of workers or the population may occur as a result of some incidents in the operation of the plant or during the transport of radioactive materials.

The accidents at Chernobyl and Fukushima Dai-ichi (Japan) gave birth to a current of mistrust and concern towards nuclear power plants. That is why we try to inform the population as correctly as possible regarding the security of CANDU type nuclear power plants. We want the population’s attitude to be one of interest and trust rather than concern or fear towards the Cernavoda nuclear power plant.

Following the nuclear accident in Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Commission requested the reassessment of nuclear safety margins at nuclear power plants in the European Union. The degree of nuclear security must be reevaluated by applying a “stress test”, which will indicate how nuclear power plants would behave in extreme situations. In this sense, events such as the occurrence of an earthquake or floods that exceed the design bases are considered, including the total loss of the electricity supply and the final cooling source. These events are analyzed for both nuclear reactors and spent fuel storage facilities. The National Commission for the Control of Nuclear Activities (CNCAN) requested the management of the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant (CNE Cernavoda), at the request of the European Commission, to re-evaluate the degree of security of the two Cernavoda units. As a result, together with the designers of the Cernavoda plant, respectively the companies CANDU Energy (formerly Atomic Energy of Canada Limited) and ANSALDO Italia, CNE Cernavoda developed a report on the reassessment of the nuclear safety margins, a report that was sent to CNCAN.

The detailed assessment carried out proved that both units of CNE Cernavoda meet the nuclear safety requirements established by the project and have sufficient design margins that can accommodate earthquakes and severe floods, total losses of electricity supply and losses of cooling water. Also, new ways of responding to severe accidents and changes to limit the consequences in case of severe accidents that lead to the melting of the active area were identified and processed. These changes were implemented according to the priority established by a team of specialists appointed for this purpose.

In conclusion, the report reveals the fact that a nuclear event similar to the one at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, Japan, is NOT POSSIBLE at the Cernavoda NPP.

Until now, the CANDU type nuclear power plants have not been confronted with events or accidents that threaten the health and safety of people. Although these risks are minimized by the fact that the plant is equipped with security systems designed to prevent and deal with such events, a series of additional measures have been provided and prepared for the protection of the population and the environment.

Among them, we can mention the planning and preparation for emergency situations, provided by the national legislation in the field as a mandatory requirement for granting the authorization to operate the nuclear power plant. At CNE Cernavoda, preparation for emergency situations is checked and improved through a complex program of emergency drills.

These exercises are carried out quarterly, with each operating shift team, annually, with each management and emergency support team and with all the personnel on site and once every 3-4 years the general emergency exercises, in which the public authorities are involved with responsibilities in the field and the population of the area adjacent to CNE Cernavoda.

AXIOPOLIS ’95, SAFE POWER ’96, PHOENIX ’97, DOBROGEA ’98, DUNAREA ’99, MILLENIUM ’00, AXIOPOLIS ’01, EURO ’02, CHALLENGE ’03, EUXIN ’04, CONVEX-3 ’05, START ’06 , EUROPE ’07, OLYMPIA ’08, AXIOPOLIS ’09, FAURAR ’10, GERAR ’11, BRUMAR ’12, SATURN ’13, MERCUR ’14, AXIOPOLIS ’15, VALAHIA ’16, TOMIS ’17, UNIREA ’18, EUROPA’19, SCYNTHIA ’20 and AXIOPOLIS ’21 are the annual/general exercises that were held at CNE Cernavoda starting with 1995. These allowed the testing of emergency plans and the identification of corrective actions to improve the plans and emergency procedures.

To inform and prepare the population, brochures were distributed free of charge with information on how to act in emergency situations.

An important factor in the efficiency of the response to emergencies is represented by the material resources of the plant and the way the emergency equipment works.

In the central office, different spaces and facilities are designated for emergency response. These facilities are equipped with equipment, which constitutes an adequate support for emergency response actions, adequately covering the requirements related to the assessment of the state of the plant, radiological conditions, personnel protection, control of deficiencies, extinguishing fires, providing first aid, cleaning spilled chemicals, communication and transfer of the necessary data.

The management and coordination of the response activities in an emergency situation is carried out from the Emergency Control Center on the Site, which is a specially designed space equipped with the necessary equipment for technical evaluation and strategic decision-making, communication equipment (including spare) , equipment for alarming the staff and the population in the neighboring areas.

For the management and coordination of response activities in an emergency situation, there is also the Off-Site Emergency Control Center which is set up in Constanta. This center is equipped similar to the Emergency Control Center on the Site and constitutes a reserve in case it becomes unavailable.

The management and coordination of the intervention activities is carried out from the Intervention Support Centers located in the Main Control Rooms of the units, which are equipped with communication equipment and equipment for alarming the staff and the population in the neighboring areas.

In addition, in various areas of the plant there are cabinets with emergency equipment, such as: calibrated monitoring instruments, first aid kits, pulmonary resuscitation devices with oxygen, stretchers as well as other materials necessary for radiological monitoring or first aid.

For the monitoring activities outside the plant, two mobile laboratories equipped with all the necessary equipment for this activity are used. A Range Monitoring System was also put into operation, consisting of 15 fixed range monitoring stations located around the Cernavoda NPP site.

As a result of the Fukushima accident, a Severe Accident Reception Area was set up, located outside the site in order to accommodate the intervention personnel in the event of a severe accident at the Cernavoda NPP, when the time spent on the site must be limited only to carrying out activities necessary to ensure security functions and to make emergency entrances in order to reduce the consequences of the event.

The emergency equipment, both their quantity and their functionality, are periodically checked within predetermined routines in order to maintain the response capacity of the plant in case of emergencies.