Olkiluoto 3: AREVA installs the reactor pressure vessel

Construction of the Olkiluoto 3 (OL3) EPR™ reactor in Finland has reached a new symbolic milestone, with the installation of the reactor pressure vessel in the reactor building.

The reactor pressure vessel was first transported from its storage hangar, to just outside the reactor containment, and then lifted into the reactor building before its final vertical introduction into the reactor pit.

The steel component weighs 420 tons, and measures 5.3 meters in diameter and 10.6 meters in height. It was installed using the permanent polar crane and a large movable crane.

This latest operation, a remarkable technical feat, comes after the reactor dome fitted in September 2009.

Jean-Pierre Mouroux, OL3 Project Director, said: “Once again, the teams in charge of installing the EPR™ reactor pressure vessel have demonstrated their tremendous know-how. We are very proud of this world’s first, which stretches AREVA’s lead in the construction of generation 3+ reactors”.

This stage will kick off a flurry of installation activities for heavy nuclear components, coinciding with the installation and start-up testing of electro-mechanical systems.

The AREVA-Siemens consortium employs some 3400 people of 55 nationalities on the OL3 site. The other heavy components (steam generators and pressurizer) will be installed by the end of the year.