Westinghouse Electric Company said 42 of its fuel assemblies will be loaded into Unit 3 at the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant after inspections showed that the company's fuel assemblies had performed well through at least three fuel cycles at the plant.
The company said Thursday that its VVER-1000 fuel “had performed flawlessly over at least three fuel cycles following an annual inspection,” at the plant.
Representatives from SEAtomemonService, Westinghouse and the State Nuclear Inspectorate of Ukraine conducted the joint inspection of the fuel assemblies, which had been the subject of criticism in Europe, mostly from Russia, where it was claimed that the imported fuel assemblies put the plant at risk.
Westinghouse has been involved in fuel supply in Ukraine since 2003 and announced a significantly expanded fuel supply contract in December 2014, which is to run through 2020. However, the issue has long been a political football with Russia denouncing the U.S. company's fuel as unsafe for Ukrainian plants and others, including Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, stressing that the contract is a step towards energy market independence for Ukraine, which is heavily dependent on Russia for natural gas supplies.
In addition, prior to 2003, Russia supplied Ukraine with all of the fuel used in its nuclear power stations.
The two countries are also at odds over Crimea, the region Russian forces annexed in March 2014.
"Of particular concern is the fact that all this is happening against the backdrop of an unstable situation in Ukraine, in an environment where political engagement takes precedence over the requirements of nuclear safety, and the country's ability to respond to emergencies is severely limited," Russia's foreign ministry said in December in response to the Westinghouse contract announcement.
The fuel assembly inspection in Ukraine that took from Feb. 15, 2015 through March 1, is one of several that confirms Westinghouse fuel is safe in Russian-designed nuclear plants, said Westinghouse President of Europe, Middle East and Africa Yves Brachet in a statement.
“The Westinghouse fuel has performed exactly to specification and has not exhibited any flaws in its operation, as expected," Brachet said.
Westinghouse , a group company of Toshiba Corporation, is a global nuclear fuel provider for pressurized water reactors (PWRs), including Russian-designed VVER reactors, as well as boiling water reactors (BWRs) and advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGRs).
Westinghouse currently provides nuclear fuel to 145 plants globally, 65 of which are in Europe, and has nuclear fuel manufacturing locations around the world, including Springfields Fuels Limited in Preston, Lancashire, U.K., and Westinghouse Electric Sweden in Västerås, Sweden.
Westinghouse is the largest supplier of nuclear fuel in Europe and also is the only other fuel manufacturer for VVER type reactors.
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