International IAEA experts to inspect Czech Dukovany plant for three weeks

The operation of the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant will be inspected for three weeks by experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The OSART mission begins today and will be carried out by ten experts from eight countries. Plant spokesperson Jiří Bezděk told the Czech News Agency (ČTK). The mission is held regularly; it last took place at Dukovany in 2011. The current mission will run until 7 November.

The international experts were invited by the Czech government through the State Office for Nuclear Safety. “Each such mission by independent and experienced experts is a unique opportunity for us to verify that our rules and procedures are correctly designed and work in practice, compared with the world’s best experience,” said Roman Havlín, director of the Dukovany plant.

The mission participants will familiarise themselves with the condition of the facilities and compliance with regulations and procedures, which they will compare with international standards for the operation of nuclear power plants around the world. They will focus on ten areas, including operations, maintenance, radiation protection, staff training and the emergency management system. They will then prepare a final report and submit it to ČEZ and the State Office for Nuclear Safety.

According to ČEZ, the experts spent several months preparing for the review. It was preceded by a visit to Dukovany last autumn by two members of the expert team, as well as this year’s OSART mission at Temelín. The IAEA also regularly uses the Dukovany plant to train its inspectors.

The Czech Republic has six nuclear units at two power plants. Dukovany generated 14.3 TWh of electricity last year, while Temelín exceeded 16 TWh. The first Dukovany unit has been shut down as planned since mid-August and should resume supplying electricity at the end of this week. The plant’s other three units are in operation.

ČEZ is preparing to build two new units at Dukovany. The winner of the tender to supply them is South Korean company KHNP. The contract is expected to be signed next year.