SITE DESCRIPTION

The South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant (SUNPP) is located approximately 400 kilometers south of Kiev, Ukraine. The plant has three operating VVER- 1000 nuclear reactors. Units 1 and 2 are Model 302, and Unit 3 is a Model 320. A fourth unit was canceled due to lack of funding. Construction was started in the early 1970s. Unit 1 was brought on-line in 1982, Unit 2 on-line in 1986, and Unit 3 in 1989. These three units generate about 25 percent of the nuclear generated power for Ukraine.

The reactors are fueled with low-enriched uranium fuel. Spent fuel is stored in fuel storage pools in the reactor buildings for many years until they are sufficiently cool for removal for shipment to a fuel reprocessing plant or to an alternate fuel storage area. Currently, a spent fuel storage building is being constructed on-site for dry storage in concrete casks.

Figure 1. SUNPP site layout

MPC&A OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES

Site Objectives and Priorities

The initial site survey, performed in September 1994, described the existing MPC&A systems and identified short- and long-term upgrades to enhance security. Fuel rods on-site contain low-enriched uranium for powering the reactors. There is no highly enriched uranium or plutonium used or stored at SUNPP. However, the plant does store large quantities of highly irradiated spent fuel. IAEA guidelines recommend facilities with large quantities of irradiated fuel be considered as Category II level facilities. As such, Category II quantities of material should be used or stored within a Protected Area.

SUNPP may pose a hazard to the public and to the environment due to the potential for sabotage. Due to the nature of the materials on-site theft of materials is not considered to be likely scenario. Equipment, systems, or devices that could directly, or indirectly, fail are being identified as vital. Such equipment should be protected by designating the areas in which they are located as Vital Areas. Protective measures applied to Vital Areas should not jeopardize nuclear safety during normal or emergency conditions. Upgrades being developed at the site include identification and installation of physical protection equipment. The program is working to ensure that the SUNPP personnel develop an attitude to ensure long-term sustainability of the physical protection culture.

Physical Protection Upgrades

Physical protection systems provide the capability to detect, delay, and respond to adversarial acts, including attempts at theft and sabotage. Physical protection enhancements at the SUNPP included four main components; delay barriers, entry control systems, an alarm assessment system, and enhancement of the communications system.

Physical protection involves restricting, recording, and delaying movements around and within critical areas. Numerous buildings are considered to be vital to the survival of the plant during emergency operations. The SUNPP staff has developed preliminary designs for the following buildings within their complex: Emergency Diesel Generator Buildings, Administration Building Entry Portal, Administration Building Exterior, Perimeter Portals, Cooling Pond Pump Stations, Fresh Fuel Storage Buildings, Spent Fuel Storage Building, three Reactor Buildings, Central Alarm Station, and the Protected Area Perimeter. The designs are complete and are intended to completely satisfy the requirements of the IAEA INFCIRC/225/ Rev. 3. Funds available from the United States will not be sufficient to complete all of the designed upgrades, but the upgrades completed will be directly applicable to meeting the IAEA requirement.

Phase I upgrades are being initiated with the Advantor Corporation of Orlando, Florida, the system integrator. Facilities included in Phase I are: 1) Emergency Diesel Generator Buildings, 2) Administration Building Entry Portal, 3) Spent Fuel Storage Building, and the 4) Central Alarm Station. Also included in Phase I will be a new badging system (video generated using proximity cards). Advantor is responsible for the purchase of the majority of the equipment, shipment of the equipment to SUNPP (through DSWA), installation of the equipment (SUNPP personnel will do the installation), and verification of the successful operation of all items installed. After installation and turnover to SUNPP the Advantor Corp. will be responsible for three years maintenance and continues training and support on the systems.

Material Control and Accounting Upgrades

Material Control and Accounting (MC&A) Upgrades are being performed by other laboratories and are not the responsibility of Sandia National Laboratories. Hence, information in this section may be incomplete.

DOE has provided a low resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy system for nondestructive assay as well as radioactive source set. AIMAS software has been provided to SUNPP along with computers and training for SUNPP technical staff responsible for material control and accounting. The AIMAS software will include a burn-up program (LEOPARD-VENTURE) to estimate fissile material loss/gain due to reactor operation. Los Alamos National Laboratory is providing an underwater video camera (Calycine tube for high-temperature resistance) with remote zoom, focus, and iris for SUNPP.
 
MPC&A TRAINING

Material Control and Accounting (MC&A) upgrades are being performed by other laboratories and are not the responsibility of Sandia National Laboratories. Hence, information in this section may be incomplete.

Training courses have been developed to improve the skills of Ukrainian specialists in material control and accountability. MC&A courses in the following areas have been identified and are being provided:
 

• Fundamentals of MC&A

• Fundamentals of NDA

• Statistics, Variance Propagation, and Measurement Control

• Structure and Management of a Safeguards Seals (TIDs) Program

• ADP training (MS Windows, MS Office, and MS Access)

NDA instrumentation needs have been identified in the areas of shipper/receiver measurements and inventory verification measurements. Among the instruments recommended are:
 

• Gamma-ray spectroscopy instrumentation for fuel enrichment measurements

• Cherenkov radiation viewing systems for in-pool spent fuel verification

• AWCC for NDA measurements on uranium samples

A software prototype has been developed for an MC&A inventory system for Ukrainian facilities. This software (AIMAS) has been installed on computers delivered to the nuclear facilities. The prototype was designed to provide a starting point for joint U.S./Ukraine system development. AIMAS was created using Microsoft Access, a relational data base management system (RDBMS) in a graphical environment. The current prototype offers basic, generic functionality for tracking the physical inventory, maintaining a historical record of additions or changes to the inventory, and provides basic reporting capabilities.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS TO DATE

The physical protection team revisited the SUNPP facility in Yuzhnoukrainsk in February and July. Two persons from SUNPP visited the United States in Orlando in April. The objectives of this visit was to continue work on physical protection upgrades, to review and assign areas of responsibilities, and to work on the development of a plan to integrate the physical protection upgrades into the existing systems. Sandia has the lead in this project and is responsible for signing contracts with SUNPP for design, delivery, installation and initial operation of the physical protection system upgrades. Argonne National Laboratory provides support to review designs and overall direction. Advantor has been placed under contract to Sandia to purchase and install upgrades at the facility.

1 . SUNPP has submitted their designs for many of the facilities at the power plant. We have received documents and drawings for: 1) Support Equipment, AR-6523; 2) Diesel Generator Buildings, AR-6524, 3) Administration Lobby Portal, AR-6525, 4) Administration Building Exterior Upgrades, AR-6527; 5) Perimeter Portals, AR-6528; 6) Cooling Pond Pumping Stations, AR-6529; 7) Fresh Fuel Storage Buildings, AR-6530; 8) Spent Fuel Storage Building, AR-6531, 9) Central Alarm Station (AR-6538), 10) three Reactor Buildings, AR-6537 and 11) the Protected Area perimeter, AR-6539.

2. Work on construction of the Spent Fuel Storage Facility is behind schedule. Installation of equipment cannot begin until much more work is completed by the SUNPP. Therefore, physical protection upgrades cannot be done first on the highest priority item on the SUNPP list of priorities.

3. Advantor Corp. prepared a quote to install equipment into the following facilities: 1) Central Alarm Station, 2) Computer generated badging system, 3) Spent Fuel Storage Facility, 4) Emergency Diesel Generator Building YMO-7, 5) Emergency Diesel Generator Building YMO-8, 6) Emergency Diesel Generator Building YMO-9, and 7) Administration Building Central Portal.

Equipment Purchased and Planned

1. Hannibal Company installed U.S.-provided equipment (12 handheld radios, 1 base station, and 1 repeater) and purchased an additional base station and 18 handheld radios.

2. SUNPP has a contract to purchase office and communication equipment in co

3. Large quantities of equipment will be purchased this year as Advantor buys and ships the materials needed to upgrade the facilities listed above.

4. Additional equipment will be purchased by SUNPP to upgrade doors, windows, and interior and exterior perimeter fence systems at the plant.

Activities Planned for Upcoming Months

As SUNPP completes designs and provides equipment specifications the U.S. side review the information and concur, or alter, their plans. After concurring, the U.S. team will provide equipment for installation and work with the Ukraine team to complete the installation. Work completed will be limited to the budget available.

Approximate dates for milestones at SUNPP:
 
 

July 22	SNL issues contract to Advantor for Phase I equipment
September 15	Advantor air ships via DSWA preliminary shipment of conduit, cable, and miscellaneous installation items to get project going
September 30	Remainder of equipment for the first tasks noted is shipped via DSWA (ocean cargo)
October 15	First air shipment of equipment clears customs and Advantor begins installation of wire and fiber backbone.
November 30	SNL issues contract to Advantor for Phase I equipment

 
AUTHOR

L. E. Romesburg
Sandia National Laboratories