Protecting people and the environment
New filtered containment venting system (Ascó and Vandellós II NPPs
As result of the Stress Tests carried out by IDOM after the accident at Fukushima, the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) required the implementation of a Filtered Containment Venting System (FCVS) in Ascó and Vandellós II NPPs before the end of 2016. This system is able to protect the containment integrity in the event of a blast overpressure to guarantee radiological protection of people and the environment in case of accident.
The overall contract was awarded to AREVA as the technologist owning the licensed venting system. AREVA has subcontracted IDOM to provide support for the development of Design Modifications Package (DMP), seismic engineering and flexibility, detailed engineering of all equipment (except: Design of Valves, Vessels, Internals, Measurements which were done by other subcontractors) and piping systems, and project management support during assembly.
The FCVS is activated when a set pressure is reached. The opening of the containment isolation valves allows the air exit from containment building through pipes. These pipes are connected to a standard filtering system developed by AREVA which comprises two Venturi tanks with washing liquid (wet section), two filtration tanks with metallic fiber (dry mechanical section), and two molecular filtration tanks. The process has a retention efficiency of 99.99% of the radioactive particles and decontaminated flow is released into the atmosphere at a height of 50 meters.
