Summary of the RCN evaluation of the Halden Reactor Project (Harg)

The Committee decided to add one further issue to its own mandate, namely “to assess the need, use and benefit of the HRP to the international organisations participating in the Project”.

The Committee has received adequate information for the evaluation through a number of documents provided by the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), the OECD/Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the RCN, including a separately performed Customer Inquiry, a three-day visit by the Committee to IFE/Halden, a meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a visit to OECD/NEA and replies to questions submitted to members of the Halden Board of Management.

The Committee has organised four meetings and has used e-mail extensively for communication. The Committee has arrived at the following main conclusions and recommendations. In addition, the text includes a number of observations and minor recommendations for the consideration of the IFE management in analysing the future direction of IFE/Halden.

The Committee’s overall impression is that on an international scale, the quality of the work performed is at a very high level and the results obtained are very relevant to the needs of the HRP participants and the bilateral customers of IFE/Halden. Our specific conclusions and recommendations are as follows:

IFE/Halden is one of the leading research facilities in the world for the study of reactor fuels and materials behaviour, as well as of man-machine interaction in control rooms, both areas being critically important for the maintenance and further improvement of nuclear power plant safety.

The HRP is unique in its capability to perform in-reactor fuel rod measurements and to monitor the behaviour of fuel and structural materials · has access to internationally recognised facilities and experts for performing research on man-machine interaction · The HRP has proven to be flexible and responsive to changes in needs for R&D.

IFE/Halden has also managed to triple its volume of international bilateral contracts during the past ten-year period, during which funding for nuclear research has generally declined. This confirms the high quality and relevance of the work performed at IFE/Halden.

The HRP and the bilateral projects performed by IFE/Halden have proven to be useful in many ways; some examples are listed below:

IFE/Halden, including the HRP, provides the Norwegian authorities with internationally recognised competence in nuclear technology and its operations and safety aspects, and credibility that supports and facilitates the realisation of Norway’s policies and international collaboration in the nuclear field, in particular the safety of nuclear reactors.

IFE/Halden, through bilateral collaboration between Russia and Norway, makes significant and cost-effective contributions to improving the safety of the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant and the Kola Nuclear Power Plant and radiation safety at other installations in the Kola Peninsula.

IFE/Halden provides Norway with the competence in nuclear reactor technology necessary for nuclear safety contingency planning.

IFE/Halden transfers technology developed in the HRP Joint Programme for the nuclear sector to Norwegian industry, and supports product development, particularly in the field of control-room hardware and software. This could be extended to other areas.

IFE/Halden makes significant contributions to Norwegian research and education.

IFE/Halden is a large employer in Halden, and the net tax result of its activity after deduction of Norwegian government grants was about 50 MNOK in 1999.

The participation of Central and Eastern European countries in the HRP has enabled IFE/Halden to implement accumulated technology and competence in these countries, both through the HRP itself and through bilateral projects, thereby enhancing nuclear reactor safety and facilitating the decommissioning of obsolete facilities. However, it is the impression of the Committee that IFE/Halden could have done even more if the necessary funding had been available. The Committee therefore suggests that IFE/Halden should raise the question with relevant bodies able to provide financial support for safety projects in Central and Eastern Europe.

The HRP and the bilateral activity of IFE/Halden provide regulatory authorities, utilities, vendors and research organisations in the signatory countries with useful results that enhance safety, increase fuel utilisation and reduce the volume of waste produced, and last but not least facilitate transfer of knowledge across national borders.The Committee has not attempted to evaluate the total cost-benefit ratio of the Norwegian public funds provided to the HRP activities, in comparison with other Norwegian publicly funded research.

Both the HRP and the bilateral activities of IFE/Halden are well managed, but some improvements could still be made. The Committee therefore recommends that management should consider a more focused research and product strategy for the MMS area, concentrating its activities on R&D and services where IFE/Halden is unique, and improved co-ordination of marketing and sales.

Management should initiate measures to further improve communication and co-ordination between the divisions, in particular more regular contacts between the division heads in the MMS area in order to jointly benefit from the multidisciplinary expertise and knowledge.

IFE should improve its management development and involve all senior managers at IFE/Halden in a more systematic programme than currently employed efforts should be made by management with regards to the recruitment and retention of key people in the MMS area, in particular human factors experts.

Considering the short and medium term future, the Committee believes that the two broad areas of research currently covered (F&M and MMS) will continue to be relevant to the needs of IFE/Halden’s customers and stakeholders. The Committee recommends that regarding Nuclear Fuels, IFE/Halden should continue to provide the facilities and expertise required for the generation of high burnup fuel properties data.

The HRP should consider increasing its involvement in fuel behaviour modelling, possibly in co-operation with NEA, and eventually offer itsfuel behaviour models as an additional product regarding Materials Performance, IFE/Halden should consider the possibility of developing additional ’products’ to support the needs of the nuclear community in the areas of ageing and life extension.

Regarding man-machine interaction, the HRP should continue to provide the focus for international research and technical networking in the area of control rooms, human performance, operator support and verification and validation of safety-related software.

Regarding Virtual Reality (VR), IFE/Halden should continue to develop VR applications in control room engineering, maintenance and decommissioning.

The HRP should continue to incorporate all its activities in one programme.The infrastructure can meet future needs without any major upgrading of facilities. It is the Committee’s opinion that the reactor is essential to maintain international collaborative research at IFE/Halden.

The Committee has not identified other disadvantages than the wastes produced. The storage facility has capacity for at least 20 more years of reactor operation. Irrespective of any ongoing programme at IFE/Halden, the Norwegian government should continue to address the problem of final deposition of high-level wastes. The Committee was asked to consider the MOX fuel research performed by the HRP in the light of "Norway’s credibility and freedom of manoeuvre as a driving force behind efforts to eliminate emissions from Sellafield and other reprocessing plants." Not having considered any policy issues, the Committee has not identified any scientific and technical evidence for concerns in these areas.

The Committee recommends that the Norwegian Government should continue to support the Halden Reactor Project after 2002 along the lines outlined above.

Copenhagen/Oslo, December 14, 2000/December 27, 2000 Knut Harg (chairman), Jarl Forstén Kerstin Dahlgren Persson, Gianni Frescura, Philip Hutchinson, Richard W. Stratton, Arnold Kr. Hansen (secretary)

The full RCN report is available in English.