OREANDA-NEWS. March 23, 2010. At the end of February, the JSC Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant was visited by a group of representatives from the Jiangsu Nuclear Power Corporation, JNPC, China. The visit of the Chinese specialists was connected with the output control and acceptance inspection of the nuclear fuel batch fabricated at the factory for the third refuelling of Unit 2 Tianwan NPP.

At the same time, a regular phase of cooperation which started in 1997 by signing the relevant contract between the JSC TVEL and JNPC is coming to its end. Since that time, 638 fuel assemblies (TVS) for two VVER-1000 units were fabricated in NCCP for the commissioned NPP in China, and Chinese specialists have carried out more than 40 audits and acceptance inspections at the plant following conditions stipulated in the concluded contract.

 “Being a direct witness to our mutual interaction, I may say that the NCCP system of quality assurance is at the highest possible level. The fuel fabricated at the plant has ensured safe and reliable operation of the two Tianwan NPP units,“ as stated by Chen Jun, the Head of the JNPC Technical Support Section of the Fuel Management Department.

In his turn, Konstantin Grabelnikov, the Deputy Director General of JSC NCCP on quality stressed that „making control of the fuel fabrication, the customer, first of all, requires to confirm that the fuel assembly fabricated complies with all requirements given in the technical specifications. „The Tianwan NPP ranks among the best according to the nuclear fuel operation indicators. Five reactor/years in two units for three fuel campaigns with no fuel assembly failures – that is a marvellous global indicator achieved. Together with the Chinese specialists, we did a very good job, and in moving towards new kinds of fuel, the reactor efficiency can only improve,“ says Grabelnikov.