Rosatom’s engineering division has started vaccination of employees against coronavirus infection at overseas construction sites. The first to receive a batch of Sputnik V medication were the employees at the Rooppur NPP construction site. In total, vaccine for 1,000 personnel was delivered.

“ASE takes health support of its employees very seriously as it is an integral part of our safety culture. Considering the importance of the Rooppur NPP construction project, we have become the first international project where Rosatom arranged for the vaccination of employees against COVID-19. This is not just a proof of a socially conscious approach, but also the key to success in implementation of tasks set for the project,” said Alexey Deriy, ASE Vice President – Director for Rooppur NPP Construction Project.

Kirill Orlov, medical adviser of the ASE branch in Bangladesh, noted that not a single case of coronavirus infection has been registered among the nearly 3,000 Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian project employees. Among almost 16,000 Bangladeshi project workers cases of the disease are very rare – in single digits.

“We have managed to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection thanks to the timely adopted strict sanitary and organizational measures, which in many ways continue to operate today. Moreover, the pandemic forced to reorganize and improve the work of the entire medical service of the project,” says Kirill Orlov.

For example, a system has been created in which no person could enter the site without a test or with a positive test result. At the same time, test results are accepted only if there is a QR code on the document, that is, it is possible to check the result in the database of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) of Bangladesh.

Project employees are being tested systematically. Typically, employees are tested every two weeks, but there is a category of employees who are tested weekly.

In addition, Kirill Orlov explained that the project staff have round-the-clock access to medical assistance. There is a central first-aid post with several doctors in the Green City village. There is a diagnostic room with modern equipment, which allows one to perform a number of checkups. “Bangladeshi employees also make frequent visits to health posts at the NPP site and in the Green City. They are provided with first aid, and, if necessary, a referral to specialized specialists is issued,” added Kirill Orlov.

Construction on the site is running at pace. In March, two girders for the polar crane were installed at Unit 1. The girders are core steel structures of the crane that will later handle heavy pieces of equipment inside the containment.

“The heavy-weight structures were installed in a well-arranged effort of the subcontractors. Roin World prepared an access way to lift the girders with a crane. Within the shortest time possible, Trest RosSEM installed containment segments to hold rails at Level +38.500 m, while EnergoSpetsMontazh completed the task by laying the girders onto the railway,” explains Yuri Koshelev, Deputy CEO for Rooppur Project Management at ASE and Chief Engineer of the project.

Russian companies continue manufacturing core equipment and machinery for the nuclear power plant in strict compliance with the time schedule.

In late March, Atommash (part of AEM) successfully completed hydraulic tests of the nuclear reactor pressure vessel for the second power unit of the Rooppur NPP. The hydraulic tests were carried out in a three-level underground caisson test bench. To install the reactor pressure vessel in the design position, a supporting ring was first installed in the test bench, and then a VVER-1200 reactor pressure vessel was placed on it. The equipment was moved using an overhead crane with a lifting capacity of 600 tons. The reactor pressure vessel with height of 11 meters was lowered into the caisson with high precision and closed with a process cover. Then workers installed 54 one and a half meter studs and tightened them using a special wrench.

The hydraulic tests of the reactor pressure vessel for Rooppur NPP Unit 2 confirmed the tightness of the base metal and the weld joints of the reactor pressure vessel.

Earlier in March, Atommash completed threading for the main joint studs on the reactor pressure vessel for the second power unit of the Rooppur NPP.

The boring of threaded holes is required to seal and secure the main vessel joint to the upper unit cover, which is one of the defining factors for the safe operation of complex equipment. In 10 days, specialists formed a high-precision metric thread with a diameter of 170 mm on 54 holes.

In March, ZIO-Podolsk (part of AEM) manufactured and shipped equipment for the second power unit of Rooppur NPP. The last set of large-sized products – the fourth MSR SPP-1200 and the second high-pressure heater HPH-K-5 – was shipped to Bangladesh.

The total weight of shipped products amounted to 350 tons. The equipment has a 50-year operating life. The specialists of the Department of Nuclear Engineering Equipment ZIO-Podolsk JSC developed design documentation and provide design support for manufacturing.

Also in March, a set of twelve high-pressure gate valves for turbine island of units 1&2 of Rooppur NPP was manufactured.

The valves with flow area from 80 to 125 mm are made of stainless steel with enhanced corrosion resistance and are intended for operation under heavy load — ​pressure up to 11 MPa and temperature up to 300 °C. The main function of these pipeline valves is to shutoff the operating medium flow tightly in order to ensure reliable operation of drainage and oil supply systems of nuclear station turbine plant.

The gate valves passed the entire set of factory tests including pneumatic, hydraulic and leak tests. Customer’s representatives conducted an acceptance inspection of the equipment.

For reference

AtomEnergoMash (AEM) is Rosatom’s power engineering division and one of Russia’s largest power machinery producers providing comprehensive solutions in design, manufacture and supply of machinery and equipment for the nuclear, thermal, petroleum, shipbuilding and steel-making industries. Its production facilities are located in Russia, Czech Republic, Hungary and others.

AtomStroyExport (ASE) belongs to Rosatom’s engineering division, which is a global leader constructing the most nuclear power plants abroad and having the world’s largest portfolio of nuclear construction contracts. The division is active in Europe, Middle East, North Africa, and Asia Pacific. ASE’s core activities are project management in the construction of thermal and nuclear power plants, construction and design supervision, and related consultancy services.