RHEINSBERG NUCLEAR-POWER STATION - A REVIEW OF 23 YEARS OF OPERATION

The 70 MWe Rheinsberg Nuclear Power Station commissioned in 1966 was the first nuclear power plant in the Eastern Block outside the USSR. The plant was developed in close cooperation with the USSR on the basis of a government agreement concluded 1956. Industries in the former GDR contributed some 70%. Rheinsberg was built almost parallel with the first Soviet 210 MWe pressurized water reactor plant in Novo Voronezh, which started operation in 1964. The main components of the Rheinsberg Nuclear Power Station have met the expectations underlying the project. The defects and failures encountered in a few components did not give rise to any nuclear hazard to the personnel or the environment. The plant, which was mainly used for training purposes, now is to be decommissioned. The present post-operational phase is devoted to complete spent fuel management on the site and to preparing the engineering side of the decommissioning step. The decommissioning permit is to be confirmed for 1994, and safe enclosure of the plant together with the removal of most of the hazard potential is to be achieved in 1998.