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Trend, Azerbaijan
May 14 2011
Metsamor NPP is serious problem for South Caucasus region's security
14.05.2011 13:14
Azerbaijan, Baku, May 14 / Trend, E.Tariverdiyeva /
As the political and radioactive fallout of Japan's Fukushima meltdown
spreads, serious regional concerns over the safety of Armenia's aging
Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant continue to mount, a professor at the
Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy (ADA) Richard Rousseau believes.
"Not only does the plant lie on a physical fault line, but it is also
located in a politically unstable neighborhood," Rousseau wrote in his
article in the Foreign Policy Journal.
He believes that one only has to look at the history of the Metsamor
Nuclear Power Plant to understand that it is basically an accident
waiting to happen.
"Following the earthquake in the Armenian city of Spitak in 1988,
which measured 6.9 on the Richter scale and killed over 25,000 people,
Soviet officials decided to shut down the plant. However, a highly
effective economic blockade imposed by Azerbaijan and Turkey in
response to the illegal occupation of the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh
by Armenian troops created conditions which led to the reopening of
the plant seven years later, despite expert advice that it should
remain deactivated," Rousseau wrote in his article.
Landlocked Armenia has few short term alternatives to nuclear power.
The Metsamor reactor provides about 40 percent of Armenia's
electricity. Attempts to replace it have been continually frustrated
and efforts to find alternative energy sources, or install a new
reactor with state-of-the-art controls and backup systems, have so far
proved fruitless. However, something will have to be done because the
clock is ticking. In October 2008, Areg Galstyan, the Armenian Deputy
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced that the
construction of a new nuclear power plant is due to start sometime in
2011 and is expected to be commissioned in 2017, the professor
believes.
"Hakob Sanasaryan, an Armenian chemist and head of the Green Union of
Armenia, claimed in 2003 that the Metsamor did not meet
internationally accepted nuclear safety standards, as it lacks a
containment vessel, whose function is to prevent radioactive release
in the event of an accident. Moreover, the plant is located a mere 75
kilometers from the 1988 earthquake epicenter, an area with a long
history of powerful quakes, and 30 kilometers from the Armenian
capital Yerevan," the article reads.
Nonetheless, officials in Yerevan insist that Armenia is immune to the
kind of nuclear emergency which has struck Japan, even if the country
is located in a seismically active zone, Rousseau believes.
He believes that the consensus statements by Armenian officials
indicate that they have closed ranks on the nuclear issue.
"The Soviet-built nuclear power plant is not considered safe enough by
Western governments either. Also, there has been considerable public
controversy - sometimes even hysteria - lately over the use of nuclear
energy and the nuclear industry has a contentious track record. So
much so, for example, that Germany has plans to decommission several
of its plants, even if they are considered as modern and
state-of-the-art. However, the trend for putting safety first is about
to stall in many regions of the world, as political and economic
expediency pushes safety concerns onto the back burner. In that
context, Armenia's neighbors cannot now assume that the once
all-pervading anti-nuclear logic can be used as an unassailable
argument against the Metsamor plant," the article reads.
The Azerbaijani government and international experts continue to voice
safety concerns over the Metsamor nuclear plant. Azerbaijan wants
solid assurances from Armenia that the plant does not constitute a
danger for any state in the region. Eduard Shevardnadze, former
president of Georgia, has urged his country's authorities to negotiate
with Armenia on the safety of the plant, Rousseau believes.
"Azerbaijan and other regional states' reasonable concerns deserve to
be taken seriously and properly addressed by the Armenian government.
In particular, they need to be reassured that there is an effective
emergency response plan in place; and that needs to be done without
any bias by all the sides as well as other stakeholders," the article
reads.
Metsamor NPP was built in 1970.
After the devastating Spitak earthquake the activity of this plant had
been suspended, but in 1995, despite international protests, the work
of the station was reactivated, and in addition, the second reactor
was launched. Despite the fact that the EU has demanded the immediate
closure of the station until 2011 and declared its readiness to assign
100 million euro to Armenia to cover its energy needs, the country has
not agreed to this. Armenia does not hide that it intends to use
Metsamor until 2016, and in the longer term, even until 2031. Given
the large number of minor earthquakes in the past 10 years in this
area, as well as the intensification of seismic processes that is
indicated by seismologist researches, in case of a big accident taking
place at Metsamor not only Armenia, but also all countries in the
Southern Caucasus and the Middle East would be seriously affected.
May 14 2011
Metsamor NPP is serious problem for South Caucasus region's security
14.05.2011 13:14
Azerbaijan, Baku, May 14 / Trend, E.Tariverdiyeva /
As the political and radioactive fallout of Japan's Fukushima meltdown
spreads, serious regional concerns over the safety of Armenia's aging
Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant continue to mount, a professor at the
Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy (ADA) Richard Rousseau believes.
"Not only does the plant lie on a physical fault line, but it is also
located in a politically unstable neighborhood," Rousseau wrote in his
article in the Foreign Policy Journal.
He believes that one only has to look at the history of the Metsamor
Nuclear Power Plant to understand that it is basically an accident
waiting to happen.
"Following the earthquake in the Armenian city of Spitak in 1988,
which measured 6.9 on the Richter scale and killed over 25,000 people,
Soviet officials decided to shut down the plant. However, a highly
effective economic blockade imposed by Azerbaijan and Turkey in
response to the illegal occupation of the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh
by Armenian troops created conditions which led to the reopening of
the plant seven years later, despite expert advice that it should
remain deactivated," Rousseau wrote in his article.
Landlocked Armenia has few short term alternatives to nuclear power.
The Metsamor reactor provides about 40 percent of Armenia's
electricity. Attempts to replace it have been continually frustrated
and efforts to find alternative energy sources, or install a new
reactor with state-of-the-art controls and backup systems, have so far
proved fruitless. However, something will have to be done because the
clock is ticking. In October 2008, Areg Galstyan, the Armenian Deputy
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced that the
construction of a new nuclear power plant is due to start sometime in
2011 and is expected to be commissioned in 2017, the professor
believes.
"Hakob Sanasaryan, an Armenian chemist and head of the Green Union of
Armenia, claimed in 2003 that the Metsamor did not meet
internationally accepted nuclear safety standards, as it lacks a
containment vessel, whose function is to prevent radioactive release
in the event of an accident. Moreover, the plant is located a mere 75
kilometers from the 1988 earthquake epicenter, an area with a long
history of powerful quakes, and 30 kilometers from the Armenian
capital Yerevan," the article reads.
Nonetheless, officials in Yerevan insist that Armenia is immune to the
kind of nuclear emergency which has struck Japan, even if the country
is located in a seismically active zone, Rousseau believes.
He believes that the consensus statements by Armenian officials
indicate that they have closed ranks on the nuclear issue.
"The Soviet-built nuclear power plant is not considered safe enough by
Western governments either. Also, there has been considerable public
controversy - sometimes even hysteria - lately over the use of nuclear
energy and the nuclear industry has a contentious track record. So
much so, for example, that Germany has plans to decommission several
of its plants, even if they are considered as modern and
state-of-the-art. However, the trend for putting safety first is about
to stall in many regions of the world, as political and economic
expediency pushes safety concerns onto the back burner. In that
context, Armenia's neighbors cannot now assume that the once
all-pervading anti-nuclear logic can be used as an unassailable
argument against the Metsamor plant," the article reads.
The Azerbaijani government and international experts continue to voice
safety concerns over the Metsamor nuclear plant. Azerbaijan wants
solid assurances from Armenia that the plant does not constitute a
danger for any state in the region. Eduard Shevardnadze, former
president of Georgia, has urged his country's authorities to negotiate
with Armenia on the safety of the plant, Rousseau believes.
"Azerbaijan and other regional states' reasonable concerns deserve to
be taken seriously and properly addressed by the Armenian government.
In particular, they need to be reassured that there is an effective
emergency response plan in place; and that needs to be done without
any bias by all the sides as well as other stakeholders," the article
reads.
Metsamor NPP was built in 1970.
After the devastating Spitak earthquake the activity of this plant had
been suspended, but in 1995, despite international protests, the work
of the station was reactivated, and in addition, the second reactor
was launched. Despite the fact that the EU has demanded the immediate
closure of the station until 2011 and declared its readiness to assign
100 million euro to Armenia to cover its energy needs, the country has
not agreed to this. Armenia does not hide that it intends to use
Metsamor until 2016, and in the longer term, even until 2031. Given
the large number of minor earthquakes in the past 10 years in this
area, as well as the intensification of seismic processes that is
indicated by seismologist researches, in case of a big accident taking
place at Metsamor not only Armenia, but also all countries in the
Southern Caucasus and the Middle East would be seriously affected.