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Hurriyet, Turkey
May 5 2011
Armenia's Metzsamor nuke plant awaits IAEA inspection
Thursday, May 5, 2011
YEREVAN - EurasiaNet
This file photo shows the Haygagan Atomagayan nuclear plant in
Metzsamor, Armenia. Hürriyet photo.
Officials in Armenia have long downplayed the potential threats posed
by the aging Metzsamor nuclear power plant, not far from the capital
city of Yerevan. At the same time, the facility has been repeatedly
ranked as one of the world's most dangerous nuclear power stations.
To reassure a jittery international community in the wake of Japan's
nuclear troubles, the Armenian government has invited International
Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to subject the Metzsamor plant to a
`stress test,' EurasiaNet.org reported.
The 12-person IAEA team is due to be in Armenia from May 15 to June 1.
The 35-year-old Metzsamor plant, which supplies about 40 percent of
the country's energy needs, has long been a target for criticism. The
plant is supposed to be shut down after the construction of a new
facility in 2016, but, with five years still to go to decommissioning,
there is mounting pressure to ensure that no mishaps occur during this
twilight phase of operations.
The IAEA tests will attempt to determine how the nuclear plant would
respond to an earthquake or a tornado, said State Nuclear Safety
Regulatory Committee Chairman Ashot Martirosian. Eager to downplay
possible doomsday scenarios, Martirosian underlined that the visit is
`standard practice.'
`Independent experts are being invited to give their expert opinion,'
he said. `After this, we will draw conclusions and introduce changes,
if necessary.'
Other international experts will review procedures - ranging from
accident management to possible power failure. Metzsamor management
will submit the findings to the State Nuclear Safety Regulatory
Committee by late September, Martirosian said.
In 1988, Metzsamor was shut down in the wake of the 6.9-magnitude
earthquake at Spitak. Even so, many Armenian nuclear-safety
specialists argue that the station is safer than Japan's stricken
Fukushima facility. Martirosian said that, unlike Fukushima,
Metzsamor's `two-loop steam cycle' could enable generators to release
steam into the air under high temperatures without also releasing
radioactive materials.
Some environmentalists, however, think such confidence is misplaced.
`The attitude toward nuclear power stations has changed across the
world,' said Karine Danielian, a former minister of environmental
protection who now heads the nongovernmental organization For
Sustainable Human Development. `Even if Japan, one of the most
progressive countries, is at risk, how can one consider our own
nuclear power station to be `safe'?'
Some of Armenia's neighbors have asked the same question, though the
identity of the country asking the question appears to follow
diplomatic fault lines. Strategic allies Turkey and Azerbaijan,
neither of which have diplomatic ties with Armenia, have called for
Metzsamor to be shut down. The plant is located 16 kilometers from
Armenia's border with Turkey. Georgia and Iran, however, have not yet
issued such a statement.
Responding to international criticism, Armenian Energy and Natural
Resources Minister Armen Movsisian told Panorama.am that `We must not
take all these statements seriously.'
`We are open; anybody can come and see our nuclear power station. If
any problem occurred, the international agency [IAEA] would be the
first to ban its operation,' Movsisian said.
One environmental activist believes the concern about Metzsamor's
continuing operations are justified.
`How can we talk about security if the nuclear plant is constructed in
a seismic zone, and is located in a densely populated settlement,
instead of being 200 kilometers away [the distance between Fukushima
and Tokyo] from residential areas?' asked Hakob Sanasarian, chairman
of the Greens Union of Armenia. `It is constructed near an
agricultural complex, a huge artesian reservoir, near highways and the
airport.'
State Nuclear Safety Regulatory Committee Chair Martirosian dismissed
Sanasarian's objections as groundless and `for show.'
`These declarations are not based on studies,' he said.
Citing studies dating back to the Soviet era, Danielian, a former
environmental protection minister, also expressed misgivings.
`As an environmentalist, I understand the existing hazards, and as a
citizen, I realize we have no alternative option to the nuclear
plant,' Danielian said. `[W]e just have to hope that the international
review will give us an opportunity to exploit the nuclear power
station safely.'
From: A. Papazian
May 5 2011
Armenia's Metzsamor nuke plant awaits IAEA inspection
Thursday, May 5, 2011
YEREVAN - EurasiaNet
This file photo shows the Haygagan Atomagayan nuclear plant in
Metzsamor, Armenia. Hürriyet photo.
Officials in Armenia have long downplayed the potential threats posed
by the aging Metzsamor nuclear power plant, not far from the capital
city of Yerevan. At the same time, the facility has been repeatedly
ranked as one of the world's most dangerous nuclear power stations.
To reassure a jittery international community in the wake of Japan's
nuclear troubles, the Armenian government has invited International
Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to subject the Metzsamor plant to a
`stress test,' EurasiaNet.org reported.
The 12-person IAEA team is due to be in Armenia from May 15 to June 1.
The 35-year-old Metzsamor plant, which supplies about 40 percent of
the country's energy needs, has long been a target for criticism. The
plant is supposed to be shut down after the construction of a new
facility in 2016, but, with five years still to go to decommissioning,
there is mounting pressure to ensure that no mishaps occur during this
twilight phase of operations.
The IAEA tests will attempt to determine how the nuclear plant would
respond to an earthquake or a tornado, said State Nuclear Safety
Regulatory Committee Chairman Ashot Martirosian. Eager to downplay
possible doomsday scenarios, Martirosian underlined that the visit is
`standard practice.'
`Independent experts are being invited to give their expert opinion,'
he said. `After this, we will draw conclusions and introduce changes,
if necessary.'
Other international experts will review procedures - ranging from
accident management to possible power failure. Metzsamor management
will submit the findings to the State Nuclear Safety Regulatory
Committee by late September, Martirosian said.
In 1988, Metzsamor was shut down in the wake of the 6.9-magnitude
earthquake at Spitak. Even so, many Armenian nuclear-safety
specialists argue that the station is safer than Japan's stricken
Fukushima facility. Martirosian said that, unlike Fukushima,
Metzsamor's `two-loop steam cycle' could enable generators to release
steam into the air under high temperatures without also releasing
radioactive materials.
Some environmentalists, however, think such confidence is misplaced.
`The attitude toward nuclear power stations has changed across the
world,' said Karine Danielian, a former minister of environmental
protection who now heads the nongovernmental organization For
Sustainable Human Development. `Even if Japan, one of the most
progressive countries, is at risk, how can one consider our own
nuclear power station to be `safe'?'
Some of Armenia's neighbors have asked the same question, though the
identity of the country asking the question appears to follow
diplomatic fault lines. Strategic allies Turkey and Azerbaijan,
neither of which have diplomatic ties with Armenia, have called for
Metzsamor to be shut down. The plant is located 16 kilometers from
Armenia's border with Turkey. Georgia and Iran, however, have not yet
issued such a statement.
Responding to international criticism, Armenian Energy and Natural
Resources Minister Armen Movsisian told Panorama.am that `We must not
take all these statements seriously.'
`We are open; anybody can come and see our nuclear power station. If
any problem occurred, the international agency [IAEA] would be the
first to ban its operation,' Movsisian said.
One environmental activist believes the concern about Metzsamor's
continuing operations are justified.
`How can we talk about security if the nuclear plant is constructed in
a seismic zone, and is located in a densely populated settlement,
instead of being 200 kilometers away [the distance between Fukushima
and Tokyo] from residential areas?' asked Hakob Sanasarian, chairman
of the Greens Union of Armenia. `It is constructed near an
agricultural complex, a huge artesian reservoir, near highways and the
airport.'
State Nuclear Safety Regulatory Committee Chair Martirosian dismissed
Sanasarian's objections as groundless and `for show.'
`These declarations are not based on studies,' he said.
Citing studies dating back to the Soviet era, Danielian, a former
environmental protection minister, also expressed misgivings.
`As an environmentalist, I understand the existing hazards, and as a
citizen, I realize we have no alternative option to the nuclear
plant,' Danielian said. `[W]e just have to hope that the international
review will give us an opportunity to exploit the nuclear power
station safely.'
From: A. Papazian