OREANDA-NEWS.  IAEA conference on water chemistry of nuclear reactor systems took place in Moscow Oct 1–3 2007, reported the press-centre of Rosenergoatom.

Experts from 20 countries: employees of nuclear power plants, power and machine building companies, research institutes, design bureaus as well as Rosenergoatom Concern took part in the conference.

Today, there are 435 nuclear power units in the world and their number is constantly growing. It is very important to ensure their safety and water chemistry is one of the key factors of their safe operation. Proper water chemistry is a guarantee that an NPP’s equipment will not corrode and that the plant will have no radioactive effect on the environment.

In the last years IAEA has been actively helping its members to improve the water chemistry of their WWER nuclear reactors.

Representative of Rosenergoatom Marina Galtseva made a report on the Concern’s new projects for decontaminating the first circuit equipment of WWER nuclear reactors.

She said that both Russian and foreign technologies are used for decontamination of the first circuits of WWER nuclear reactors in Russia, Finland and Bulgaria. “We already have big experience in decontaminating first circuits, controlling metal, modernizing reactors and reducing collective radiation dose.”

Galtseva reported on Rosenergoatom’s work for improving decontamination technologies.

The conferees discussed such problems as reduction of material degradation, improvement of water chemistry, enhancement of fuel efficiency, decontamination and waste treatment.

They adopted a document summing up the best international experience in improving the water chemistry of nuclear reactors.

Rosenergoatom has promised that by Dec 1 2007 it would present its proposals for improving IAEA’s new document on NPP water chemistry. The Russian side believes that this document is useful and timely but needs improvement.