Are your nuclear operations safe?

Yes. Safety levels in nuclear operations are not a matter of choice: if our operations do not meet requirements, plants will be taken or kept off line until Vattenfall and the regulator are satisfied.

Delays in modernisation projects, technical defects and procedural deviations drew attention to Vattenfall’s nuclear operations in 2009 and led in some cases to increased downtime for our reactors. These outages hurt customers and Vattenfall’s business, and the company is taking the necessary measures to bring the reactors back on line and minimise future disruptions.

Nuclear safety is defined by a balanced combination of human activity, technology and organisation, and not merely by the absence of incidents and accidents.

What it means to be a safe operator

Safe nuclear power plant operation is based on a combination of:

• People who are well-trained, informed, empowered and dedicated, and who uphold the highest personal and professional standards.
• An organisation that has a positive and strong nuclear safety culture.
• Processes that are robust and an organisation that values problem identification and resolution.
• Plants that are well-designed, well-operated, and well-maintained.
• Owners who strongly support safe operation and provide the necessary resources.

How the safety system works

Society demands flawless operation of nuclear power, and safety work in Sweden and Germany, where Vattenfall operates nuclear power plants, is monitored by supervisory authorities who follow the entire process: from compo-nent manufacturing and installation to plant operation and in-service inspections.

Safety in a nuclear power plant covers three stages:

• Preventing faults through inspection routines, automatic control systems and operator actions.
• Reducing the effects of faults on the operation of the plant through the use of multiple back-up systems and, if necessary, automatic shutdown of the plant by independent
  safety systems.
• Preventing a fault from leading to the spread of radiation or radioactive material through automatic safety systems and multiple physical safety barriers (see box)

The various back-up and safety systems are located in physically separated areas so that only a part of the safety systems will be affected in the event of a fire, for example.

How incidents are handled

Events and incidents at nuclear power plants are reported and followed up according to strict national regulations and international standards set up by regulators and independent international organisations, such as the IAEA and WANO. Nuclear incidents are reported and ranked according to a scale called the INES scale (International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale).

Events are classified on the scale at seven levels:

Levels 1–3 are called “incidents” and Levels 4–7 “accidents”. Events without safety significance are called “deviations” and are classified Below Scale/ Level 0.”

During 2009 Vattenfall faced situations that led to unplanned downtime at three different reactors: Krümmel (INES 0), Forsmark (INES 0), and Ringhals (INES 1). One of these – at Forsmark – involved an important technical issue but was handled properly through safety routines. The other two involved deviations from routines and processes and have led to further review by Vattenfall, the regulator, our peers, and independent authorities.

Please download the full PDF version of the CSR Report to learn more about these 3 situations and the steps Vattenfall is taking to address them.

Download the CSR report 2009 here

Fact box - Safety barriers at a nuclear power plant