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Global Insight
June 3, 2011
International Atomic Watchdog Urges Armenia to Boost Nuclear Plant's Safety
BYLINE: Lilit Gevorgyan
Yesterday (2 June) experts from nuclear watchdog International Atomic
Energy Agency's (IAEA) Operational Safety Team advised the operators
of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Metsamor to boost safety
measures at the Soviet-era reactor. The head of the inspection team,
Gabor Antal Vamos, visited the NPP and said at a press conference in
the Armenian capital Yerevan that during their work they did not see
any extraordinary shortcomings, but they made 16 recommendations and
14 suggestions to improve the operational safety of the plant. He
quelled concerns by saying that similar observations have been made in
other countries as well. The operators of the NPP--which has a reactor
similar to that at Chernobyl--are planning to carry out stress tests
later this year. The government has pledged to spend USD25 million in
the next two years to boost the safety of the ageing NPP. Some USD130
million has already been invested in similar projects at the plant.
Significance:The IAEA concerns highlight those shared by many in
Armenia, which sits on one of the most seismically active fault-lines.
In 1988 the then-government of Soviet Armenia closed the NPP following
a devastating earthquake. However, the economic blockade by Turkey and
Azerbaijan forced the Armenian government to reopen the plant in 1993
to deal with a severe energy crisis. The European Union (EU) has long
advocated the closure of the plant. Although the Armenian government
has agreed that it would be safer to close Metsamor, they also argue
that Armenia remains highly dependent on exported energy resources
mainly from Russia, which are often unreliable given the regional
security issue while the blockade by two out of four of its
neighbouring continues prompting the authorities to prolong the
deadline for the decommissioning of old reactors. Furthermore, the
EU's efforts to incentivise the Armenian authorities by offering a
credit line to build a new plant after Metsamor is closed are also
unrealistic for the Armenian government, which wants to build a new
nuclear plant now before Metsamor is decommissioned.
From: A. Papazian
June 3, 2011
International Atomic Watchdog Urges Armenia to Boost Nuclear Plant's Safety
BYLINE: Lilit Gevorgyan
Yesterday (2 June) experts from nuclear watchdog International Atomic
Energy Agency's (IAEA) Operational Safety Team advised the operators
of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Metsamor to boost safety
measures at the Soviet-era reactor. The head of the inspection team,
Gabor Antal Vamos, visited the NPP and said at a press conference in
the Armenian capital Yerevan that during their work they did not see
any extraordinary shortcomings, but they made 16 recommendations and
14 suggestions to improve the operational safety of the plant. He
quelled concerns by saying that similar observations have been made in
other countries as well. The operators of the NPP--which has a reactor
similar to that at Chernobyl--are planning to carry out stress tests
later this year. The government has pledged to spend USD25 million in
the next two years to boost the safety of the ageing NPP. Some USD130
million has already been invested in similar projects at the plant.
Significance:The IAEA concerns highlight those shared by many in
Armenia, which sits on one of the most seismically active fault-lines.
In 1988 the then-government of Soviet Armenia closed the NPP following
a devastating earthquake. However, the economic blockade by Turkey and
Azerbaijan forced the Armenian government to reopen the plant in 1993
to deal with a severe energy crisis. The European Union (EU) has long
advocated the closure of the plant. Although the Armenian government
has agreed that it would be safer to close Metsamor, they also argue
that Armenia remains highly dependent on exported energy resources
mainly from Russia, which are often unreliable given the regional
security issue while the blockade by two out of four of its
neighbouring continues prompting the authorities to prolong the
deadline for the decommissioning of old reactors. Furthermore, the
EU's efforts to incentivise the Armenian authorities by offering a
credit line to build a new plant after Metsamor is closed are also
unrealistic for the Armenian government, which wants to build a new
nuclear plant now before Metsamor is decommissioned.
From: A. Papazian