The builders have completed the installation of the fourth tier of the inner containment (IEC) of the reactor building of power unit No. 2.
The builders assembled 10 armored blocks 6.45 meters high and weighing about 50 tons each in 10 days. The installation of the tier raised the constructive of the second power unit to the level of 43.1 meters.
“The fourth tier is the beginning of the domed part of the inner protective containment. On this tier, the containment is narrowed for further installation of the dome. The peculiarity of the tier is that there are consoles in the armored blocks, on which a rail track is installed for the operation of the polar crane,” Andrey Osharin, first deputy director for the construction of new units of the Kursk NPP, explained.
“During the construction of the fourth tier, the many years’ experience in concreting protective containments were used, which made it possible to avoid time losses and make the most efficient use of available resources. Completion of this stage opens up several important operation areas at the construction of the second power unit of the Kursk NPP-2, such as the installation of a polar crane and the installation of the dome of the IEC,” said Oleg Shperle, vice president, project director for the construction of the Kursk NPP of JSC ASE.
The dome part also includes the installation of the fifth and sixth tiers. In accordance with the approved work schedule, the installation of the dome of power unit No. 2 is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
The inner containment is one of the most important elements of the power unit's safety system, preventing the release of radioactive substances into the environment in case of an emergency.
The construction of power unit 1 and 2 of the Kursk NPP-2 is performed as part of the federal project "Design and construction of reference power units of nuclear power plants" of the Integrated Program "Development of equipment, technologies and scientific research in the sphere of the use of atomic energy in the Russian Federation for the period up to 2024.
