Support of the Ukrainian supervisory authority in establishing a modern nuclear power plant monitoring

The type of monitoring of nuclear power plants in Ukraine practised early nineties provided the supervisory authority with only inadequate access to information about the current safety status of plants. For the Zaporozhye NPP, unit 5, a technical system to improve the operational monitoring has been designed, installed and commissioned for trial operation at the end of 1995 as a pilot project. The system complements existing operation checking and monitoring facilities by including modern means of information technology. It enables concentration on a continuous monitoring of the state of unit 5 in normal operation and in cases of anomalies or incidents so that when recognisable deviations from the regular plant operation occur, the authority can immediately inquire and if necessary impose conditions on the operator. In 1997 the Information and Crisis Centre of the Ukraine supervisory authority in Kiev has equipped with the most essential technical means necessary for quasi-simultaneous transfer of data and voice and for monitoring purposes and connected the Centre to the Zaporozhye system. A similar monitoring system for both VVER-440 units of the Rovno NPP by analogy with the pilot project was specified, put into operation and connected to the ICC in 1998.