IAEA "Lise Meitner Programme" Delegation Visits Russia's Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) “Lise·Meitner Programme” organized its first visit to Russia, with 14 female representatives from the nuclear field of 14 countries recently visiting the Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant (Kalinin NPP) to learn about plant operations, safety management, and personnel training. The Russian itinerary was organized by the Rosatom Technical Academy.

The delegation toured the Kalinin NPP industrial site, the turbine halls of the units, and the main control room of Unit 4. Evgeny Solovyov, Deputy Chief Engineer for Safety and Reliability at Kalinin NPP, briefed the visitors on the plant's construction and operational overview, with particular emphasis on nuclear safety assurance principles, environmental monitoring systems, and workforce development.

During the exchange session, delegation members discussed with plant management and technical staff topics including radiation environment in the plant site area, the impact of plant operations on surrounding residents, emergency response preparedness, and safety culture development. Relevant parties stated that this visit helped delegation members gain a more direct understanding of the actual operational practices and safety mechanisms of a nuclear power plant.

Sonia Panizo Prieto, a researcher at Spain's Center for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research (CIEMAT), noted the significant practical value of hands-on exposure to nuclear plant equipment. She said that seeing a real unit control room in person is very different from studying reactor plant operations only through drawings and textbooks; the visit also drew her attention to the fact that all four units at Kalinin NPP are equipped with mutually independent safety systems.

Fariha Anjum, Assistant Head of the Nuclear Safety Monitoring and Control Laboratory at Bangladesh's Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (Rooppur NPP), said that interacting with nuclear plant professionals helps connect theoretical knowledge with day-to-day plant operations. She specifically noted that continuous personnel training, clear division of responsibilities, operational experience feedback, and procedure execution are key elements in embedding nuclear safety culture.

During the two-week visit to Russia, the delegation also visited the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR), Mashinostroitelny Zavod, as well as relevant research institutions and nuclear industry enterprises in Moscow, Obninsk, Udomlya, Dubna, and Elektrostal, to learn about Russian nuclear technology, safety assurance methods, and nuclear workforce development systems, and exchanged views with IAEA and Russian nuclear industry experts.

The “Lise·Meitner Programme” was jointly developed by the IAEA and the Rosatom Technical Academy for women working in the nuclear field, with content covering technical training, leadership capacity building, and international experience exchange. Named after Lise Meitner, one of the discoverers of nuclear fission, the programme aims to support women's career development in the nuclear industry.

The Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant is located in Udomlya, Tver Region, Russia, and is part of Rosenergoatom. The plant has four VVER-1000 pressurized water reactor units, each with an installed capacity of 1,000 MW. According to plant data, Kalinin NPP accounts for approximately 82% of total electricity generation in the Tver Region, 14% of generation in Russia's Central Federal District, and about 15% of Rosenergoatom's total electricity output.