Eventful year 2013 on the OL3 construction site
The transition from one work phase to the next is under way at the OL3 plant unit. The new tax number was introduced at the beginning of March. The safety index has also remained on a good level on the site.
The construction of the OL3 plant unit progresses on a wide front. Building work is now completed in the main parts, installation of the outer cladding of the buildings is ongoing. Piping for the reactor coolant system has been welded and the installation of instrumentation on the pressure vessel head is in progress. The installation of fuel transfer equipment is in the final stretch and the testing of the fuel handling equipment has started in the fuel building.
The leak-tightness tests of the fuel pools and reactor pools, the dry tests of the fuel racks in the fuel pools and the leak-tightness tests of the personnel airlocks have been carried out. Works that are still under way include installation of other components, welding of piping as well as pressure tests.
The commissioning of power distribution in the reactor island has started. The commissioning tests of the process and electrical systems continue in the turbine island. The emergency diesel generator and the main condensate pumps have also been tested.
Tax number and good occupational safety prospects
Pursuant to the law enforced in Finland in September, workers on every new construction worksite must as of 1 September 2012 wear, in a visible location, a personal ID that indicates their Finnish tax number. On worksites that have started prior to the beginning of September, the tax number becomes compulsory on 1 March 2013.
The access permit that also indicates the tax number has now been required on the OL3 worksite for about a month. Although the high number of workers caused some hiccups in the ordering and registration of the numbers, the tax number process was implemented successfully on the OL3 worksite.
The development of occupational safety has been favourable on the worksite and has continued on a positive trend with no severe accidents occurring on the site. Currently we are living the longest accident-free period in the history of the worksite. That is extremely positive.
The worksite is now undergoing a transition to new work tasks with the start of the first commissioning tests. This will involve also new risk types due to e.g. power being connected to the systems. In the future, the focus on ensuring safety shifts from the safety of building work more and more to process safety. To ensure safety, constant efforts are required and continuous improvement and exemplary conduct are goals also in safety matters.
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