OREANDA-NEWS. On July 20–21 2007 the parties to the US-Russian project for refurbishment of Seversk coal power plant (Tomsk region) and shutdown of its plutonium reactors (Seversk Plutonium Production Elimination Project (SPPEP)) met at the plant to mark its 4,000,000th manhour without accident.

SPPEP is a project of strategic importance requiring very high level of labor protection and operating safety and the purpose of the safe labor-accident-free production program is exactly to ensure this level.

The program was launched at one and the same time with SPPEP. From the very beginning all the parties to the program (SPPEP contractors and sub-contractors (12 companies from Seversk, 15 from Tomsk and 11 from other Russian regions)) showed high diligence and efficiency.

What is the program about? And why was its completion celebrated like a holiday?

An executive of Rosatomstroy said: “We are not just instructing. Our objective is to cultivate safety: to explain that safety is an essential element — the basis — of effective production and to motivate our constructors towards safe operation. Our program is like a game for adults – a game involving everybody without exception – even real professionals.”

The key goal of Rosatomstroy’s labor protection policy is to protect the lives and health of its employees throughout their employment. The company’s management actively cultivates safety culture among its employees by motivating them to work carefully and thoroughly. For this purpose they have revised their remuneration system: careless employees no longer get bonuses. All employees, newcomers, probationers are trained on a regular basis, with special commissions constantly checking up their knowledge.

Project Director Tim Haley said that very much depends on individuals – on each and every person involved in the project. That’s why last Friday the management of the project expressed gratitude to all employees. People are working under unusual natural conditions: falling and rising temperature and high humidity — but they are doing very well. Progress is evident: 1,000,000 accident-free manhours since the launch of the construction.
 
For many years already this program has been a guarantee of accident-free operation. The managers of the project believe that such events (when people are presented with gifts and words of gratitude) encourage each constructor to work better and safer for the sake of the general cause.

All labor protection and ecological safety measures under the project are carried out by highly qualified specialists. Due to high efficiency and close cooperation the parties to SPPEP have significantly improved the safety situation at the site: 4,000,000 accident-free manhours in June 2006-Apr 2007 against 2,500,000 accident-free manhourts in early 2006. 

In their work the parties consider the best experience of nuclear and thermal power companies and the recommendations of partner organizations.

Note:

The objective of Seversk Plutonium Production Elimination Project is the refurbishment of the existing fossil fuel plant and the shutdown of the two remaining plutonium production reactors in Seversk by 2008.

The parties to the project are Rosatomstroy, Washington Group International Inc and Siberian Chemical Plant.