Metsamor NPP stops for repairs, global threat remains
By Rashid Shirinov
Following numerous complaints of international organizations and experts, the Armenian government dared to temporarily suspend the operation of the old Metsamor nuclear power plant (NPP). The plant will be stopped for preventive repair works, Director General of the NPP Movses Vardanyan said, Rusarminfo states.
The beginning of repair works is scheduled for September 20. They will last for 61 days. Then, on November 20, the plant is expected to be put into operation again.
A number of activities in the course of the preventive works will be implemented jointly with company RusAtom Service. Some of them will be carried out at the expense of loan borrowed from Russia.
After the completion of works, the plant’s management will appeal to the State Committee for Regulation of Nuclear Security in order to obtain permission for further operation until 2026. The current resolution allowed the plant to operate until September 1, 2016.
Renovations at the Metsamor NPP will not reduce the threat of this station and will not facilitate the reduction of region's pollution with radioactive waste, the Chairman of the National Nuclear Research Center of Azerbaijan, Adil Garibov, believes.
"The repairs conducted at the nuclear power plant are a maintenance process which is periodically being conducted there since 2014 with the aim of extending the exploitation of the Metsamor NPP," he told Trend.
“During these two months, final repairs and testing will be conducted. Upon their completion, the life cycle of the NPP life will be extended for another 10 years by the decision of Armenia’s Cabinet of Ministers. "The International Atomic Energy Agency visited the reactor and found the result satisfactory. Our objections were not heard,” said Garibov.
However, despite all those repair works, the Metsamor NPP continues to remain nearly the most dangerous object for the whole region, Garibov emphasized.
This was noted also by international observers. “There is great nuclear security risk to the region regarding Metsamor NPP, especially in the context of the occupation of Azerbaijan territory by Armenia,” The Korea Times states. The dubious condition of spent fuel and waste material from Metsamor NPP also raises safety concerns.
The construction of Metsamor NPP began in 1970. After the devastating earthquake of 1988 in the town of Spitak, it was closed; but in 1995, despite numerous international protests, the Armenian government renewed the operation of the NPP – moreover, the second reactor was launched.
Many international ecologists and scientists keep noting that the seismic activity of the area makes the operation of the nuclear power station in Metsamor an extremely dangerous enterprise even if a reactor of new sample is constructed.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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