[다음은 로이드 레지스터와의 영어로 진행된 일문일답이다.]
“Involved in civil nuclear power sector for more than 60 years. Having been involved since its inception, we are one of the world’s most qualified organisations to support the safety of nuclear projects. Ascivil nuclear power is in the global energy mix as energy security requirements become more important and society demands a response to global warming what proportion of that mix it ultimately represents will be dictated by market and socio-political dynamics. We are not proponents or opponents of the use civil nuclear power. In other words, we are not promoting its use. the Lloyd’s Register group is, in essence, a non-profit distributing charity with a public-benefit mandate responsibility to help ensure that our clients have technical support and guidance they need to operate safely and efficiently. We provide a level of confidence to industry through the independent verification and validation of safety processes, and assessment of plant and equipment from initial concept through to detailed design, construction, commissioning, operation, maintenance and decommissioning.”
-LR has been providing authorised inspection service for nuclear power plant in Korea. Could you compare the marketability of Korean nuclear power business to of China and Japan.
“(Bring in to play your knowledge of market trends and developments across Asia)Many nuclear companies are committed to a process of continuous improvement and we believe Lloyd’s Register can contribute to that. This is where we can help operators in Korea, China and Japan for example. Just as in other Energy process sectors, our support services to the civil nuclear industry cover widely the industry’s nuclear facilities. We help ensure a consistent approach to risk management across legislative regimes, asset conditions and work cultures in a very complex process. Elite operators of high-risk assets recognise the value of independent technical oversight in high-risk nuclear projects that can be provided by Lloyd’s Register.”
-Due to the nuclear power plant quality documents counterfeiting and forgery scandal, LR Asia Energy department has been participating in the 3rd party re-verification project. However, even the project has been 1 yearstill many people have doubts to LR.
“we were appointed by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd., (KHNP)reporting to KHNP and MOTIE (the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy) in Koreafrom October 2013 to provide independent review and re-examination of their documentation verified previously by others for safety equipment used in their operating nuclear facilities following counterfeit and/or fraudulent documents and substandard items installed in safety systems being revealed to KHNP and MOTIE. We have provided a full and thorough analysis of our progress on this contract in the time allowed by the 2014 Parliamentary Audit. We have raised a number of findings to the client as a result our review activities, and have engaged personnel from Europe, USA and Korea to help ensure we highlight to KHNP any deficiencies we find. We have a strong track record in assessment, evaluation and verification of nuclear safety. We provide support in a number of areas: analysis and data; examination of the existing records for structures systems and components. Our nuclear experience from projects around the world is precisely why we have been engaged by KHNP. Through our technical expertise we are eager and able to support both the Korean government and KHNP to build a safer, nuclear industry in Korea. Also, we are the only third-party inspection agency able to certify to the Korea Electric Power Industry Code (KEPIC) SN (Nuclear Structure) code and is approved to certify to the KEPIC MN (Nuclear Mechanical Components) code.”
-One of the LR staffs attended to the Parliament Audit on 17th Oct as a witness, to answer to the questions regarding "4 out of 35 re-verification team members are from KHNP or has forgery scandal in the past. One of them had worked for re-verification work for 1 year." What is your view to such circumstances in Korea.
“We can confirm that following problems reported in the nuclear industry in Korea in 2012, Lloyd’s Register Asia was engaged from October 2013 to review and re-examine verification records held by KHNP. To assist in the provision of these contractual obligations, Lloyd’s Register Asia engaged Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance quality systems experts and experts from USA companies as well as Korean companies. The assembled team has reported to Lloyd’s Register management in the UK. The pace, scope and sequence of Lloyd’s Register Asia services for KHNP has been delivered as contracted and as requested by KHNP. Lloyd's Register Asia has and is working in close cooperation with the Parliamentary Audit and KHNP to provide all relevant information and necessary support.”
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-Through the counterfeiting and forgery scandal, many people in Korea realised the importance of morality and role of verification agencies. Are there any history cases of faked nuclear power plant quality document in UK. Could you explain about the UK's quality document verification system.
“Lloyd’s Register and its global nuclear business is committed to technical excellence and to applying strict ethical standards. We are committed to technical excellence and to applying strict ethical standards in our work and with any contractors used to support the fulfilment of its obligations.(Bring in to play the role of independent verification to provide that confidence to industry stakeholders and the wider community at large. Explain the UK’s regulatory approach)”
-UK operatedcommercial nuclear power plant for the first time in the world, and has 16 power plants now. Recently the UK government announced that they are planning to build 10 new nuclear reactors of 18GW capacity, replace old ones by 2025. Could you explain about the current circumstances of UK's nuclear power business.
“(Discuss the changing landscape of the energy mix in UK and security of supply issues, government and key operator engagement, JIPs, etc)Nuclear sectors in other countries have evolved faster than in the UK. In France and the US, industry is playing a leading role with dynamic structures and the design of nuclear reactors in those countries has developed. The same is true of manufacturers in Asia…. expand. Many factors contribute to the increasing interest in nuclear power:(Increasing energy demands)The driving forces for the growing energy demands are population growth and industrial development. Energy experts estimate that electricity consumption will double by 2030. (Climate change)Nobody can avoid noticing ongoing discussions regarding global warming and the need for reducing fossil fuel use. With this background the nuclear alternative faces an increasing public acceptance. (Economy)Increasing fossil fuel prices in combination with political decisions that encourage the carbon emission reduction by economic incentives make nuclear option more interesting. Another contributing factor is that nuclear power has much lower fuel price exposure compared to fossil fuelled plants because the cost of uranium has low impact on electricity production costs that are dominated by capital costs. (Security of supply)Vulnerability due to interruption in delivery of oil and gas gains increasing importance when discussing different options for production of electricity.”
-The UK government opens power plant business to the public, especially they announce candidates of nuclear power plant sites and encourage foreign investments. What is the reputation of Korean nuclear business which also has been trying to entre to new UK nuclear power market.
“One major trend in the nuclear business is transition of Original Equipment Manufacturers from Europe and North America to Asia. This development is a result of high level of activities regarding new builds in countries like South Korea, China and India, rapid industrial development in those countries in combination with high ambitions to develop indigenous nuclear technology that will also be exported to other countries. South Korea is very active in this area. Representatives from different countries are beginning to reveal their ambitious plans for nuclear expansion. The scale and scope of nuclear build is inspiring. If these plans are realised we can expect about 400-500 NPPs to be built by 2030. In the region of 60 new countries have declared interest in introducing nuclear power, and about 30 of those have advanced plans to integrate nuclear power within their local infrastructure. most of these countries start from almost nothing; they face an entire infrastructure revolution impacting on both technical and legal standards which involves regulatory bodies, legislation and supporting supply chain infrastructure, e.g. inspection regimes, quality assurance and safety cultures.”
-UK's nuclear power business will be activated, so LR has more business opportunities accordingly. What are the plans for future business.
“Lloyd's Register has a clear strategy to become the leading Technical Support Organisation(TSO) of compliance, integrity and specialised consultancy services to operators, manufacturers and contractors in the nuclear industry. Our work in nuclear and recent contract success the world over, demonstrates real momentum towards how nuclear safety can be managed and controlled in the nuclear sector. Ourservices are entirely focused upon civil power generation with an increasing penetration to the new build market. Services provided to the nuclear market include probabilistic safety analysis (PSA), deterministic analysis as well as life extension management. Mention proprietary software tools including the industry 'standard' safety tool-RiskSpectrum. good reputation, and licensed to 80 % of the world’s nuclear power generating establishments. It is widely regarded as the leading tool for probabilistic safety analysis. the ‘de facto’ standard for 11 out of 13 nuclear power generating companies in China. In India, it’s every one that depends on it. We are bringing together key learnings from nuclear and other capital-intensive sectors, such as aviation, oil and gas and rail. This combined capability and expertise will be invaluable to an expanding nuclear sector. The increasing activities by nuclear operators locally and across the world presents variousopportunities for Lloyd’s Register at new build phases of the life cycle to life extension and decommissioning. Safety and quality is the number one priority for any nuclear operator; we are confident we will continue to progress our work in Asia, across Europe and in America, as we support the regulators and nuclear operators on their primary work packages.”
-Decommissioning and decontamination works of nuclear power plants are also considered as a blue ocean. What are the plans of LR in these areas.
“Independent verification promotes greater industry collaboration for safety, reassuring the public that the government is using the resources available to ensure the safety of the nuclear industry, even at the decommissioning stage. The issue of how to handle radioactive waste needs to be resolved when planning for nuclear power. Not all countries are considering this critical stage of the life cycle in focus, which may raise concerns as it is considered as one of the major hurdles when discussing the safe removal, transport and disposal of nuclear waste. Presently, there is considerable research being carried out with governments and key authorities to assess and make recommendations on a safe and effective approach to nuclear waste management. Sweden and Finland are leading the way on these research initiatives. another major challenge is the ability of companies operating in the industry to attract and retain enough skilled and well educated people to help support the expansion in nuclear power not only in UK and Europe, but worldwide. The efficiency and availability of NNP is always a critical area for review by asset owners and vendors, resulting in power output efficiencies and power output up to between 25 and 30 %.This gives a valuable economical contribution when financing both modernisation and life extension.”
-After Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in 2011, a lot of people are focusing on the safety issue. What do you think that would be required for reinforcement of safety.
“Demand for energy is increasing world-wide. Combined with raised safety and environmental expectations, and the need for operational efficiencies, the demand for nuclear related risk management services is expected to increase further. As we have seen in the UK, China, and Korea for example, most countries are expected to revisit and are revisiting their risk-management strategies to ensure that they reflect the lessons learned from safety incidents. The most successful regulatory regimes are adaptable enough to keep up with advancements in an ever-changing industry and incorporate best practices from around the industry and around the globe. Third-generation facilities currently proposed in the UK, China and elsewhere have more advanced fail-safe systems built in to their design than those currently with a 30 plus year operating legacy. But the future of nuclear energy needs to be looked at in terms of the big picture. The world faces major challenges from energy security, energy poverty and global warming. Nuclear is playing a role and the question ahead is whether the associated safety implications and operational risks for each individual facility are acceptable. This is as much a socio-political question as a technical one. Nuclear must always have a high safety focus. Many of the ‘new nuclear countries’ lack the necessary legal infrastructure including legislation, safety and relevant licensing authorities, and where there is an undeveloped technical infrastructure, the safety culture for nuclear must be built in to the global nuclear power needs by operating companies at every stage in the nuclear supply chain. This is where our expertise can help. In many ways the UK has led the way in health and safety legislation, rigorously examining casualties when they occur and applying lessons learned to improve safety. LR has been involved at the forefront of many of these investigations in the shipping and energy sectors.”