INSPECTION AND CLEANING OF THE steam generators at Fortum's Loviisa nuclear power plant - two 520MWe WER-440 reactors - is carried out manually every four years. The work is performed in a challenging environment at relatively high radiation levels and incurs occupational safety risks. Two years ago Finland's Jyvaskyla University of Applied Sciences (JAMK) and Fortum started developing a solution that can significantly reduce how much work is done by humans inside the steam generators and the workers' expose to radiation doses. "We started the project by mapping the possible alternatives for cleaning and inspecting steam generators. However, none of the existing alternatives were completely suitable for this purpose, so we decided to start collaborating with JAMK on the development of a robot that would be suitable for these tasks," says Fortum development manager Ville Lestinen.
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