site.btaKozloduy NPP Yet to Present Two Documents for Switching to New Fuel for Unit 5

The Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NRA) has completed its review of the formal regularity of Kozloduy NPP's application for a permit to carry out a phased transition of Unit 5 of the nuclear power plant to operation with a new type of RWFA nuclear fuel produced by Westinghouse, the NRA said on Wednesday. The review found that Kozloduy NPP has not submitted two documents: a draft amendment to Chapter 15 "Accident Analysis" of the Safety Analysis Report and a draft amendment to the administrative instruction "Preparation of neutron-physical characterization reports for the VVER-1000 reactor".

The missing documents are related to safety-critical analyses, evaluations and estimates, without which the NRA cannot assess the implementation of the safety regulations in their entirety and cannot assess the impact of the proposed change on the limits and conditions for safe operation of the unit.

The identified lack of documents constitutes non-compliance with the requirements of the Ordinance on the Procedure for Issuing Licences and Permits for the Safe Use of Nuclear Energy.

On the basis of the same regulation, Kozloduy NPP has been given until October 15, 2023, to remedy the non-compliances. In the event that the requested documents are not submitted on time, a provision of the Ordinance will be applied, according to which the head of the NRA shall refuse to issue a licence.