Fuqing 5 trips during power ascension testing

摘要

China’s National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) reported November 9 that the world’s first HPR-1000 (Hualong One), Unit 5 of the Fuqing nuclear power plant in Fujian Province, China, experienced a trip while performing power ascension testing. Plant operators were performing a commissioning test procedure of Fuqing 5 to determine the characteristics of the steam turbine atmosphere release valve. This test triggered a high-pressure differential in the steam pipeline, which then caused the automatic safety injection system to release all control rods into the reactor. NNSA said that all safety systems responded “normally,” and all operating personnel implemented the appropriate accident procedures to return the reactor to a safe state. The regulator noted that the incident is a Level 0 event on the International Nuclear Event Classification Scale (INES).