© EDF
“The first time I arrived at the site, I
was amazed by the actual size of the site”;
remembers Gatis Počs, Project Manager at
Peikko. Indeed, the HPC site is like a small
city where employees are transported from
one place to another with the site's own
buses. And the row of cranes can be seen
for miles, that is how big it really is!
There are more than 50 cranes in use at
the site, including the biggest crane in the
world, SGC-250, which is used to lift the
nuclear reactor, among other things.
SAFETY ABOVE ALL
Safety is the most important concern for
nuclear power construction. That is why
efforts are made to take into account all
possible risks of accident, such as leaks,
fires, explosions, or the reactor core melting.
Furthermore, the risks of external hazards,
such as floods or aircraft accidents, are
taken into account. Taking all these issues
into consideration in planning and construction
is challenging, because the building
must fulfill the strictest requirements.
The structure of a power plant consists
in the main of extremely massive concrete
structures cast-in-place. Hundreds of
engineers are working on planning and
modelling, and it is their task to ensure
that all possible aspects are taken into
consideration. The connections must be
both safe and reliable. This means that no
compromises are made at the expense of
safety. Every work phase, both at the site
and in the production of a products, are
specified in precise detail in advance. The
implementation is documented, and the
end result is approved on the basis of an
assessment.
SOMERSET,
ENGLAND
During the implementation phase,
thousands of cubic meters of concrete
are cast daily, and hundreds of tons of
reinforcement and steel are installed. The
schedules at the site are very tight, but
no compromises are made as regards
nuclear safety. Documentation of even the
smallest detail and full retraceability of
products are connected with nuclear safety.
Information regarding all the products used
in construction must be reliably available
throughout the building's 60-year lifespan.
Success in
the nuclear
power industry
requires strong
expertise,
established
operations,
as well as a
high quality
organization.
PEIKKO CONNECTIONS 1/2022 15