PACE discusses Armenia’s Metsamor
By Sara Rajabova
Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe Sebastian Kurz has responded the question of the Azerbaijani MP's question during spring session of the PACE.
Member of the Azerbaijani delegation to the PACE Rafael Huseynov addressed a question about Armenia's out-of-date Metsamor nuclear power plant.
Metsamor is one of the few remnants of the old Soviet nuclear reactors built without primary containment structures. Only a few of these first generation water-moderated reactors are still in use today, being past or near their original retirement ages, but what sets the Metsamor nuclear power plant apart from all the others is the fact that it's located in a potentially hazardous seismic zone.
Huseynov said since 2001, the issues on stopping operation of Metsamor nuclear power plant, working with out-of-date technologies and situated in active seismic zone were raised repeatedly and the power plant underwent several failures.
He noted that several times different documents were prepared and addresses were made personally by him on this real danger. "But there are still no results. Taking increased tendency of earthquakes in the region into consideration, the experts think probability of terrifying accident in the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant is inevitable," Huseynov underlined.
Huseynov said in case of accident including, not only people from Armenia but also millions of people from Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey, as well as other neighbor states some European countries will become victims of this nuclear tragedy.
He asked what preventive and concrete measures can be taken on this terrible problem as soon as possible.
Responding to the question, Kurz, who is also Austrian Foreign Minister, said the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe is not engaged on nuclear energy issues.
"So I will answer your question as the Foreign Minister of Austria. The recent events have shown that nuclear centers are not so safe. In this connection, I understand your concern. For example, in my country we've decided to abandon nuclear centers and we are concerned of the safety regulations of nuclear centers near to us. Now we mainly focus on new energy sources. We hope that in the future, Europe as a whole will not use nuclear energy," Kurz said.
Metsamor NPP was built in 1970. After the devastating earthquake in Spitak in 1988 it was closed, but in 1995, the operation of the station was resumed and a second reactor was launched despite international criticism.
The lifespan of Metsamor expired in 2010, but Armenia and IAEA experts have agreed to continue the operation of the plant until 2016.
The nuclear power plant poses a serious threat to the security of the entire region, especially to the neighboring countries - Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Therefore, the three countries demand immediate shutdown of the plant in view of the danger.
According to environmentalists and scientists from all over the region, seismic activity in the area renders Metsamor nuclear plant an extreme risk even if a new generation reactor were to be built. Given the large number of minor earthquakes in the area in the last ten years, as well as the intensification of the seismic processes, scientists predict that in the event of a major accident at Metsamor, not only Armenia, but also other countries of the South Caucasus and Middle East states would be severely affected.