Nuclear News Weekly Roundup – February 2018
Construction of the Fuel Building’s Main Structure at Fuqing Unit 5 is Completed
On the early morning of February 12th, Fuqing Unit 5’s 36.5m panel at the fuel building underwent its final concrete pour, marking the completion of the hall’s main structure. The fuel building is the area where fuel rods are loaded and unloaded, and where the fuel storage system is operated. The building is a rectangular plant to the south of the containment building, which it is attached to. The hall has many internal structures, including the refueling pool, spent fuel pool cooling and processing systems, and service water system.
Construction of the Containment Building Internal Structure at Fuqing Unit 6 is Completed
On February 11th, the last concrete panel of the primary equipment compartments above the 16.5 m platform at Fuqing Unit 6 was poured, marking the completion of the containment building internal structure. The compartments, which are used to protect major components within the containment building, will eventually contain a pressurizer, water tanks for the external reactor vessel cooling (ERVC) system, as well as evaporators. The completion of the structure paves the way for the introduction and installation of the equipment mentioned above.
Sluice Gate Components Shipped for Karachi Unit 2 (K2), the First HPR1000 Outside China
On February 6th, the sluice gate frames for K2 were shipped from China Nuclear Industry Fifth Construction Company (CNEC5), a subsidiary of China Nuclear Engineering & Construction Group Corporation (CNEC) that recently merged with CNNC. The frames are the first set of components of K2’s sluice gate project. It is also the first time CNEC5 was contracted for an NPP sluice gate project.
Inspection Conference for the Preliminary Design of Changjiang Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Demonstration Project Held in Beijing
The inspection conference for the preliminary design of the Changjiang SMR demonstration project was held in Beijing from February 8th to 10th. The examination report finds that the preliminary design in in compliance with all safety regulations, rules, guidance, and standards. Comments and suggestions on corrective actions and further work were also provided. The Changjiang SMR demonstration project, which has already obtained permission from the National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC), is a first-of-its-kind project in China. It uses the CNNC ACP100 design, also known as the “Ling Long One” design.
IAEA Technical Cooperation (TC) Programme’s Fourth International Experts Meeting Held in Beijing
The IAEA’s 2016-2017 Technical Cooperation (TC) Programme’s Fourth Experts Meeting was held at the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE) in Beijing from January 29th to February 2nd. Experts from ROSATOM’s Pilot and Demonstration Center for Decommissioning of Uranium-Graphite Nuclear Reactors (PDC UGR), the Romanian National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN-HH), the Ignalina NPP in Lithuania, CIAE’s decommissioning related departments, and the IAEA program officer met to discuss two topics: 1) the dismounting, packaging, and storage of radioactive graphite; and 2) NPP decommissioning and demolition technology.