Arranging Activities of NPP Personnel in Case of Seismic Impacts: Akkuyu NPP Experience after Earthquakes on February 6, 2023

The operational experience of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) site under the conditions of devastating earthquakes in Turkey on February 6, 2023, is presented. Approaches to organizing personnel actions during seismic impacts are considered using the response of the Akkuyu NPP personnel to earthquakes in accordance with local regulatory documents in force at that time. An overview of the international experience in regulatory standards regarding the response of NPP personnel to earthquakes is presented in comparison with the Russian approaches. Regulatory and organizational gaps have been identified in terms of the personnel response both in the local regulatory documents of Akkuyu Nuclear JSC and in the Russian regulatory documents in force at the NPP. When analyzing the practice of countries with a developed nuclear industry, the need for clear and flexible response procedures has been confirmed even in the case of seismic impacts that have not reached the design level. In order to eliminate the identified organizational problems, measures are developed and implemented to finalize the local regulations “Actions for the Implementation of Preventive Measures in Case of a Threat of Emergency Situations at the Akkuyu NPP Site” by including arrangements for the personnel response and actions. Activities are proposed to improve seismic monitoring at the site, which have established for the first time the mechanism of prompt notification about recorded seismic vibrations with a ground acceleration of ≥0.01g at the Akkuyu NPP site or in a city of mass residence of personnel within 1 h after the event. Engineering and managerial procedures are proposed to increase the safety level for personnel and equipment. It is noted that NP-064-17 Russian federal standards, which focus on the account of impact parameters during design and operation, do not cover aspects of responding to low- and medium-intensity seismic events. The necessity is justified of refining the regulatory framework by complementing the NP-064-17 standards in terms of formalizing the levels of response and notification of personnel in such seismic events, which will help standardize the actions of personnel and prevent unjustified risks.