Workers at Russia’s Kursk II nuclear power plant have begun concreting of the floors of the main circulation pump one month ahead of schedule.

The builders will have to fill nine sections with extra heavy concrete, using 544 cubic metres of mixture. This special heavy concrete is characterised by its high density. In addition to gravel and cement, it contains iron scale (iron shot). The use of heavy concrete is required because of the loads that the slab will withstand.

It will house the special equipment of the reactor compartment: steam generators, hydraulic tanks for the emergency core cooling system, and main circulation pumps. After the concrete is hardened, the builders will continue to build up the structure of the building – walls and floors.

Rosatom General Director Alexey Likhachev, on a working visit to Kursk II said that, of the 13 key events slated for completion in 2020, eleven were completed, many ahead of schedule. The rest will be completed by the end of the year.

Kursk II is a replacement station for the current Kursk nuclear plant. Commissioning of the first two units with the new design VVER-TOI reactors will be synchronised with the decommissioning of Kursk 1&2 of the operating plant.