Czech Temelín undergoes its largest-ever inspection

A commission made up of international experts has carried out the largest inspection to date of the Temelín nuclear power plant in its history and found no serious shortcomings. Errors were found in documentation during a previous inspection, but there was no need to shut down any units.

The Temelín nuclear power plant has for the first time undergone an inspection under the new rules of the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO). According to plant spokesman Marek Sviták, the 30th international review was the largest in Temelín's history. Thirty-one experts from 12 countries inspected the plant from 27 November to 11 December and found no serious shortcomings related to its safe operation.

“The plant meets Czech and international requirements; otherwise, we could not be inoperation. The mission is about exchanging experience and benchmarking against the best. That goes far beyond legislative requirements.”
Temelín Nuclear Power Plant director Bohdan Zronek

The experts are now comparing the information obtained with global practice. The inspection will result in a final report, which should be available at the beginning of next year.

„The mission's findings confirmed that the changes already under way, for example in the area of supplier inspections, are heading in the right direction. We are currently strengthening these control mechanisms and will also incorporate the recommendations of WANO experts.“
Bohdan Zronek

The plant review was conducted under new WANO rules adopted in response to the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Under the new procedures, the plant is assessed as a whole, whereas before the introduction of the new standards, individual areas connected with nuclear plant operation were examined. The experts will return to Temelín in two years to verify how plant management has acted on their findings.

Partial shortcomings were found last week by another group of experts inspecting documentation for welds. The inspection followed poorly conducted weld inspections at the Dukovany power plant, where 3 of its 4 units have been shut down as a result. The situation at Temelín is not serious enough to require units to be shut down.

WANO

WANO, or the World Association of Nuclear Operators, was founded in 1989 in response to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. Its mission is to continuously improve the level of nuclear safety and the reliability of nuclear power plants by sharing information on events, reviewing safety and benchmarking safety performance.