The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine agreed upon the technical decision on eliminating the defects of SSE ChNPP II Generation New Ventilation Stack (NVS) metal structures.
The Action Plan on eliminating the defects is attached to the technical decision. According to this Plan a working documentation on remedial measures that improve the NVS reliability and on eliminating the defects of NVS tower’s metal structures should be developed within 30 calendar days after the agreement by the Designer (KSK Consortium composed of Kyiv Institute “Energoproekt”, Scientific Research Institute for Building Structures and Institute for NPP Safety Problems) with the involvement of the Nominated Subcontractor – Ye.Paton Institute. Welding work technology will be developed in parallel. After the working documentation review by the Employer and expert assessment at the SE “Ukrderzhbudexpertise”, the work execution projects, in accordance with which the physical activities on eliminating the defects to be performed, will be developed and then reviewed by the SNRIU.
The measures on designing, agreement and execution are envisaged for five months. The works will be financed at the expense of the Chernobyl Shelter Fund.

FYI
Construction and erection works on assembling the NVS metal structures were performed under the relevant contract within the Shelter Implementation Plan (SIP) in March 2012.
On July 11, 2012, during the routine inspection of the NVS metal structures’ condition by the designer's supervision personnel, the defects of joint welds in gusset plates of the NVS tower at marks 100.00, 107.56 and 114.76 in the form of “hair” cracks along the welding joints, which connect the gusset plates 12 mm in thickness and a pipe 325 mm in diameter, were detected.  The cracks development was observed in the top-bottom direction. These joint welds were produced at the manufacturing factory (Kharkiv).
“The Action Plan on the NVS engineering survey, investigation of causes for defects and measures on their repair” was developed by the SSE ChNPP for determining the causes for defects of the NVS metal structures and elaboration of high priority measures on their elimination. It was submitted to the SNRIU on 13.09.2012. The NVS Project Designer, KSC Consortium, carried out additional surveys and developed the Report “Analysis of causes for formation of cracks in the NVS structures and recommendations on further actions”. The technical decision on eliminating the defects of the New Ventilation Stack metal structures was developed based on these documents.

As previously informed, on 9^th of April 2013, the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Yuriy Boyko officially visited the SSE “Chernobyl NPP” site. Based on the results of official visit and progress review of the Chernobyl NPP Units Decommissioning and the Shelter Transformation into Ecologically Safe System projects, and to improve efficiency of using available infrastructure of Chernobyl NPP for energy industry of Ukraine, on April 12, the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Yuriy Boyko gave appropriate instructions:
- The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry, the State Agency for Exclusion Zone Management, the State Nuclear Regulation Inspectorate, the Kyiv Regional State Administration, and SE NAEC “EnergoAtom”, by 1^st of May 2013, are entrusted to create an inter-agency working group chaired by the Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Dmytro Mormul to work out a strategy of further development of Chernobyl site taking into account solving of Ukrainian Nuclear Industry issues on centralized management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste;
- The Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry and the State Agency for Exclusion Zone Management, by 1^st of August 2013, are entrusted to hand over electricity generation facility “Outdoor Switchgear (OSG) 110/330/750 kW” from the balance sheet of SSE “Chernobyl NPP” to the balance sheet of SE NEC “UkrEnergo”.

For reference:
The OSG-110/330/750 kW was designed to output to the energy system the electric power generated by operating power units of ChNPP, and provide transit of electric power using transmission and cross-border networks, provide electric power to the plant’s units, auxiliary facilities and other consuming facilities of the region adjacent to ChNPP area.
Since Units shutdown, the OSG-110/330/750 kW is still functioning practically to the full extent ensuring connection between separate energy systems of the unified energy system of Ukraine, and power delivery to it from KhNPP Units. Moreover, using OSG-330/750 kW, the electric power supplies are exported to the Republic of Belarus, the electric power is delivered from transmission networks to CJSC “AES KyivOblEnergo” networks and supplied for SSE ChNPP needs.

In the finding of SE “Ukrderzhbudexpertise” it is said: “Under the results of design documentation review and elimination of comments it is found that the specified documentation has been developed in accordance with initial design data along with observance of requirements to strength, reliability and life duration of the construction object, its operational safety, engineering assurance, sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population, occupational safety, ecology, fire safety, technogenic safety, nuclear and radiation safety, energy saving, and can be approved in accordance with the established procedure…”.

All works on the NSC project are divided into six Licensing Packages (LP). The works on three of them, namely: cleanup of the construction site, works on installation of trenches, foundation pits, foundations of lifting towers, working platform for the Arch assembling, foundations in the erection area – were completed. Foundations of the transport area are at the stage of completion. Licensing Package of the main facility LP-5, which includes foundations, metal structures, cladding and processing facility, was approved in December 2011. The Arch assembling activities are underway at the ChNPP industrial site according to this very Package.

Licensing Package-6 is one of the basic packages of constructing the New Safe Confinement, which envisages integration of whole NSC design.

The NSC construction works are performed by the contractor – NOVARKA Consortium.

More detailed information on the NSC construction design can be found here

On 11^th of April 2013, the factory acceptance tests of emergency cutting machine and graphite rings and plugs removal device were performed at the Research and Production Association “GROUP OF COMPANIES MAGR” under implementation of the Project “Upgrading of Long-Length Item Cutting Facility (LICF) at Chernobyl NPP”.

The representatives of Spent Nuclear Fuel Management Shop of Chernobyl NPP, the contracting organizations, i.e. AMEC Company (UK) and Production Commercial Firm “ADI” (Ukraine), and the representatives of the manufacturing company RPA “GC MAGR” took part in the testing.

For reference: Project “Upgrading of Long-Length Item Cutting Facility at Chernobyl NPP, Republic of Ukraine” is funded from European Commission for implementing technical assistance programmes in nuclear safety under TACIS Programme.
Implementation of this project will enable to create conditions for safe management of equipment and special items used during operation of the Units in reactor cores and currently are being stored in the cooling pools, technological shafts and reactors of Units 1, 2, and 3.