The holiday week was a busy one at the Krško Nuclear Power Plant

The Krško NPP implemented a series of works in cooperation with the companies Westinghouse, PCI, and the local Numip. First, we removed both parts of the pipeline and prepared to install new ones. The welders and pipe preparers, who had to be validated for each activity they carried out in the containment, were trained on a model of the shaft, which in terms of size and layout corresponds to the space next to the reactor vessel, and on a model of the new pipeline. Our goal and priority are to carry out high-quality work in compliance with the highest standards and to restart the plant as soon as possible.

At the end of last week, parts of the pipeline on both lines of the connection system to the reactor were bored out and removed from the containment. The plant workers performed initial non-destructive tests (radiography, ultrasound, chemical composition, hardness measurement, etc.) of the removed pipelines. Further research will take place in a special laboratory in the USA.

Preparations for two new parts of the pipelines took place in parallel. At the beginning of the week, we brought them into the containment and placed them on location. Then the welding of pipelines to the connections of the reactor vessel began. This part of the project was the most challenging, as the work took place in a very tight space using full protective equipment. After successful radiographic, ultrasonic, penetrant, and visual inspections, works began on the other side of the pipeline in the so-called valve rooms. The new pipelines must be carefully aligned and welded, and the welding quality checked by non-destructive tests; we plan to have these works completed by the end of the week.

The Slovenian Nuclear Safety Administration supervises work with authorized organizations (Institute for Metal Structures and Welding Institute). We plan to synchronize the generator to the power system in mid-November.

Insertion of a new pipeline into the containment