OREANDA-NEWS. April 23, 2009. An emergency response exercise took place at Bilibino Nuclear Power Plant Apr 21 04:00 PM-07:00 PM according to the schedule of the Emergency Response Group of Energoatom Concern.

The objective of the exercise was to see if Bilibino NPP, the Emergency Response Group and structural departments of Energoatom Concern and technical support centers were ready to effectively respond to possible emergencies, if the control, communications and alarm systems of Energoatom Concern were efficient and if the parties were ready to work effectively in common information space.

The heads of the emergency response groups of Bilibino NPP, representatives of the Crisis Center and the Emergency Response Group of Energoatom Concern, radiation safety, reactor control and other experts took part in the exercise.

Representatives of the Novovoronezh Emergency Response Center, the expert group of VNIIAES OJSC, Typhoon SPA, IPPE, Nuclear Safety Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Atomenergoproekt OJSC and some other organizations provided technical support, representatives of the Federal Service for Ecological, Technological and Nuclear Supervision (Rostekhnadzor) observed the training.

The experts checked up the preparedness of the personnel to respond to possible emergencies, to eliminate their consequences, particularly, to evacuate the population, to ensure radiation control and individual protection of the personnel, to cooperate with federal and local authorities and organizations in protecting the population and territories from emergencies and eliminating their consequences.

According to the scenario of the exercise, an unsanctioned impact on the safety protection system of the reactor of the 3rd unit caused a rise in the reactor’s capacity, damage of the fuel, emission of radiation and consequent contamination of the site and the buffer zone; the diesel station caught fire; the control panel of the safety system stalled. The coordinator of the emergency response activities, the director of Bilibino NPP Farit Tukhvertov declared state of emergency and enacted a personnel protection plan.

The trainees acted in effective and coordinated manner and managed to quickly reduce the capacity of the reactor, to restore the heat supply of Biibino and to put out the fire.

During the exercise the parties communicated through a video conference: they exchanged information about the state of the “damaged” unit and the plant, as a whole, about the radiation situation at the site and in the buffer zone, analyzed the mistakes of the rescuers and made proposals on how to improve their performance and to enhance their preparedness for emergency situations.

During the exercise Bilibino NPP operated according to the schedule.

Presently, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th units of the plant are in service. The 1st unit is under maintenance. The radiation background at the plant and in the nearby area is within norm.