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PRIME MINISTER SAYS ARMENIA READY FOR STRESS TEST OF METSAMOR OPERATIONAL SAFETY
/ARKA/
May 10, 2011
YEREVAN
YEREVAN, May 10, /ARKA/. Armenian prime minister Tigran Sarkisian
said today the authorities were ready to welcome a delegation the
Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) acting under the aegis of the
International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA), who are due in Armenia
on May 16 for a two-week review of the operational safety of the
Armenian nuclear power plant in Metsamor.
The prime minister said this as he spoke at a joint press briefing
with Wilfred Martens, the visiting chairman of the European People's
Party. He said the OSART team includes leading nuclear safety experts
from several IAEA member countries.
The prime minister said following the disaster at Japan's Fukushima
plant he had instructed the ministry of energy and natural resources
and all other stokeholds to make a through review of the plant's
operational safety
Earlier head of Armenia's Nuclear Safety Committee, Ashot Martirosian,
said the authorities planned to use the stress test developed by
European Nuclear Regulation Association (WENRA) to check the safety
of the nuclear power plants.
The test is a targeted reassessment of the safety margins of NPPs
in the light of the events which occurred in Fukushima. He said the
results of the comprehensive review of Metsamor nuclear power plant's
operational safety will be available in late September.
According to Armenian authorities, more than 1,200 measures have been
taken to enhance the safety of the facility at the demand of the UN's
International Atomic Energy Agency since the plant was relaunched
in 1995.
The Metsamor plant, which accounts for about 40 percent of Armenia's
electricity, has undergone numerous safety upgrades since being
reactivated in 1995. According to government figures, Armenia has
received $130 million worth of assistance from the United States,
the European Union, Russia and other international bodies to upgrade
the plant's safety. The plant located some 30 kilometers west of
Yerevan, was built in the 1970s but was closed following a devastating
earthquake in 1988 that killed some 25,000 people and devastated much
of northern Armenia.
One of its two VVER 440-V230 light-water reactors was reactivated in
1995. Armenian authorities said they will build a new nuclear power
plant to replace the aging Metsamor plant. The new plant is supposed
to operate at twice the capacity of the Soviet-constructed facility.
From: A. Papazian
/ARKA/
May 10, 2011
YEREVAN
YEREVAN, May 10, /ARKA/. Armenian prime minister Tigran Sarkisian
said today the authorities were ready to welcome a delegation the
Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) acting under the aegis of the
International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA), who are due in Armenia
on May 16 for a two-week review of the operational safety of the
Armenian nuclear power plant in Metsamor.
The prime minister said this as he spoke at a joint press briefing
with Wilfred Martens, the visiting chairman of the European People's
Party. He said the OSART team includes leading nuclear safety experts
from several IAEA member countries.
The prime minister said following the disaster at Japan's Fukushima
plant he had instructed the ministry of energy and natural resources
and all other stokeholds to make a through review of the plant's
operational safety
Earlier head of Armenia's Nuclear Safety Committee, Ashot Martirosian,
said the authorities planned to use the stress test developed by
European Nuclear Regulation Association (WENRA) to check the safety
of the nuclear power plants.
The test is a targeted reassessment of the safety margins of NPPs
in the light of the events which occurred in Fukushima. He said the
results of the comprehensive review of Metsamor nuclear power plant's
operational safety will be available in late September.
According to Armenian authorities, more than 1,200 measures have been
taken to enhance the safety of the facility at the demand of the UN's
International Atomic Energy Agency since the plant was relaunched
in 1995.
The Metsamor plant, which accounts for about 40 percent of Armenia's
electricity, has undergone numerous safety upgrades since being
reactivated in 1995. According to government figures, Armenia has
received $130 million worth of assistance from the United States,
the European Union, Russia and other international bodies to upgrade
the plant's safety. The plant located some 30 kilometers west of
Yerevan, was built in the 1970s but was closed following a devastating
earthquake in 1988 that killed some 25,000 people and devastated much
of northern Armenia.
One of its two VVER 440-V230 light-water reactors was reactivated in
1995. Armenian authorities said they will build a new nuclear power
plant to replace the aging Metsamor plant. The new plant is supposed
to operate at twice the capacity of the Soviet-constructed facility.
From: A. Papazian