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METSAMOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANT USAGE EXTENDED FOR ANOTHER DECADE
by Hatem CabbarlÄ
Today's Zaman
Nov 7 2012
Turkey
Armenia insists on continuing its use of the Metsamor nuclear power
plant, even though the plant's technical and physical life span has
petered out.
This insistence is supported by Russia as well as the US and the EU;
the first sells nuclear fuel to Armenia, and the other two do not
wish to see Armenia experience energy problems. A statement made by
Armenian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsisian,
in the wake of the Oct. 18 accord marking new cooperative efforts
between Armenia and the US in the arena of energy, noted that use of
the Metsamor plant has been extended for another decade.
Movsisian made this statement in light of the announcement that work
on the newly constructed nuclear power plant will be completed 10
years from now. In the meantime, as the EU has strengthened controls
over nuclear power plants on its own lands -- especially in the wake
of the disaster in Japan after last year's earthquake and tsunami --
it has remained silent in the face of the twice-extended life span
of the Armenian nuclear power plant.
Construction on Armenia's VVER-440/230-type Metsamor nuclear power
plant began during an era when cheap nuclear energy was being much
promoted, and came to an end in 1977. The plant is 40 kilometers from
the capital city of Yerevan, and just 16 kilometers from the border
with Turkey. Before the plant was built, some Soviet scientists opposed
the project, noting that the plans would place the plant right on
top of the fault lines for Mt. Agrı, and that it posed a high risk
of infiltrating important regional water sources with radiation.
When the second reactor at this plant was built in 1980, Metsamor
achieved production strength of 880 kilowatts per hour. In the
meantime, factors such as the power plant's lack of safe, technical
equipment, the insufficiency of water used in its cooling system,
and the fact that the cooling system relied on old, first-generation
technology all place the local ecology at serious risk. Even though
the Armenian government asserts that the power plant could withstand
earthquakes up to magnitude 9 on the Richter scale, the fact that the
plant does lie on top of a fault line, that it was actually damaged
in the 1988 earthquake, and that it has had nearly 150 accidents in
the past decade all show the seriousness of the problem at hand.
In addition, it is known that during the Soviet era, there were four
models of reactors placed in nuclear power plants built at the time.
These were the VVER, PBMK, EGP and BN reactors, and after about
40 years of experience, it was proven that the VVER reactors in
particular were very unsafe. This is precisely the kind of reactor
that the Metsamor power plant works with, and it is the kind of
reactor found in the power plants that have had the most accidents.
Due to a perceived risk of radiation leaks, as well as serious damage
experienced in the 1988 earthquake, the option of closing down the
Metsamor nuclear power plant made it to the top of the agenda, and
the plant was in fact shut down in 1989. Built using old technology,
the plant had threatened the safety and ecology of not just Armenia
but in fact the entire region.
Armenia's serious energy problems
With the December 1988 closure of the Metsamor nuclear power plant,
Armenia began to experience serious energy problems. When the Armenian
economy collapsed in the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet Union,
the Armenian government began to research alternative energy sources,
starting up talks with both Russia and Iran on the topic of obtaining
electric energy from these countries. When it became clear that
Armenia would have serious financial problems for these projects,
the government began talks with the Russian government about starting
up energy production at the Metsamor plant once again.
Insufficient finances for getting the Metsamor plant to work again
became thus a very serious new problem for the Armenian government.
What was needed was $70 million. Long-winded talks between the sides
involved wound up with a decision to see a delegation of 650 experts,
and for enriched uranium to be given to Armenia. At the same time,
though, the European Union and the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) objected strongly to these moves, on the basis that the plant
posed a great threat to the region. The US ambassador to Armenia
made a public statement about the threat posed by the plant to the
ecology and the region. In response to this, the Armenian minister of
energy noted that it would never be possible to see Metsamor equipped
according to European standards, and that the country did not possess
alternative energy resources.
Despite the fact that no other nuclear power plant in the world had
ever started up again after six years of full closure, the Metsamor
plant -- damaged in the 1988 Armenian earthquake -- was re-opened in
1995 by the Armenian government.
When both the EU and the IAEA brought up the issue of closing down
Metsamor -- a plant that supplied 40 percent of Armenia's electrical
power -- Ashot Martirosian, head of the Armenia State Nuclear Energy
Control Committee, asserted the plant in fact posed no risk to the
region. He also pointed to the 1980 construction date of the plant,
noting that its life span was in fact 30 years, and that since it had
been shut down between 1989 and 1995, it could thus now be expected
to produce electricity until 2016. He also stated that the reactors
had been repaired every three to four years, and that no serious
problems with them had been encountered so far.
If the Metsamor nuclear power plant does, in fact, experience a
serious accident, the countries most at risk from this would be Turkey,
Iran and Azerbaijan. The plant lies in the Hoktamberian province of
Armenia, which is very close to the Turkish border. Though the Turkish
government has never engaged in any attempts to see the plant shut
down, in January 2003 Kars Mayor Naif Alibeyoglu applied to both the
IAEA and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), saying he would
be opening a legal case to push for closure of the plant.
If the Kars Municipality were to cooperate with the Green Party,
and pull further European environmental groups onto their side, it is
possible to say that they would have a chance at winning this case in
the ECtHR. This is because, most strikingly, this nuclear power plant
relies on outdated technology, and lies right on top of a fault line.
In addition, Armenia had promised in the past, as a member of the
European Council, that the plant would be shut down. If action were
taken by both Turkey and Europe to see this happen, it would no doubt
see results.
After construction was started on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil line,
mass protests and rallies organized by Georgian environmentalists did
take place, with demands registered for compensations to be made for
residents of the region. We say with certainty that Turkey has the
same rights to push for the closure of this nuclear power plant. It
is also true that environmentalists around the world are sensitive to
topics such as these. Despite this, environmental groups in Turkey
do not seem to realize the real risks posed by the Metsamor plant
to the environment and those living near it. While the effective
measures taken by these same environmentalists when it comes to
preventing the pollution of the Bosporus should be applauded, it is
difficult to understand their silence when it comes to the possible
"second Chernobyl" looming next door.
*Dr. Hatem Cabbarlı is the president of the Eurasia Safety and
Strategy Research Center.
From: Baghdasarian
by Hatem CabbarlÄ
Today's Zaman
Nov 7 2012
Turkey
Armenia insists on continuing its use of the Metsamor nuclear power
plant, even though the plant's technical and physical life span has
petered out.
This insistence is supported by Russia as well as the US and the EU;
the first sells nuclear fuel to Armenia, and the other two do not
wish to see Armenia experience energy problems. A statement made by
Armenian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsisian,
in the wake of the Oct. 18 accord marking new cooperative efforts
between Armenia and the US in the arena of energy, noted that use of
the Metsamor plant has been extended for another decade.
Movsisian made this statement in light of the announcement that work
on the newly constructed nuclear power plant will be completed 10
years from now. In the meantime, as the EU has strengthened controls
over nuclear power plants on its own lands -- especially in the wake
of the disaster in Japan after last year's earthquake and tsunami --
it has remained silent in the face of the twice-extended life span
of the Armenian nuclear power plant.
Construction on Armenia's VVER-440/230-type Metsamor nuclear power
plant began during an era when cheap nuclear energy was being much
promoted, and came to an end in 1977. The plant is 40 kilometers from
the capital city of Yerevan, and just 16 kilometers from the border
with Turkey. Before the plant was built, some Soviet scientists opposed
the project, noting that the plans would place the plant right on
top of the fault lines for Mt. Agrı, and that it posed a high risk
of infiltrating important regional water sources with radiation.
When the second reactor at this plant was built in 1980, Metsamor
achieved production strength of 880 kilowatts per hour. In the
meantime, factors such as the power plant's lack of safe, technical
equipment, the insufficiency of water used in its cooling system,
and the fact that the cooling system relied on old, first-generation
technology all place the local ecology at serious risk. Even though
the Armenian government asserts that the power plant could withstand
earthquakes up to magnitude 9 on the Richter scale, the fact that the
plant does lie on top of a fault line, that it was actually damaged
in the 1988 earthquake, and that it has had nearly 150 accidents in
the past decade all show the seriousness of the problem at hand.
In addition, it is known that during the Soviet era, there were four
models of reactors placed in nuclear power plants built at the time.
These were the VVER, PBMK, EGP and BN reactors, and after about
40 years of experience, it was proven that the VVER reactors in
particular were very unsafe. This is precisely the kind of reactor
that the Metsamor power plant works with, and it is the kind of
reactor found in the power plants that have had the most accidents.
Due to a perceived risk of radiation leaks, as well as serious damage
experienced in the 1988 earthquake, the option of closing down the
Metsamor nuclear power plant made it to the top of the agenda, and
the plant was in fact shut down in 1989. Built using old technology,
the plant had threatened the safety and ecology of not just Armenia
but in fact the entire region.
Armenia's serious energy problems
With the December 1988 closure of the Metsamor nuclear power plant,
Armenia began to experience serious energy problems. When the Armenian
economy collapsed in the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet Union,
the Armenian government began to research alternative energy sources,
starting up talks with both Russia and Iran on the topic of obtaining
electric energy from these countries. When it became clear that
Armenia would have serious financial problems for these projects,
the government began talks with the Russian government about starting
up energy production at the Metsamor plant once again.
Insufficient finances for getting the Metsamor plant to work again
became thus a very serious new problem for the Armenian government.
What was needed was $70 million. Long-winded talks between the sides
involved wound up with a decision to see a delegation of 650 experts,
and for enriched uranium to be given to Armenia. At the same time,
though, the European Union and the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) objected strongly to these moves, on the basis that the plant
posed a great threat to the region. The US ambassador to Armenia
made a public statement about the threat posed by the plant to the
ecology and the region. In response to this, the Armenian minister of
energy noted that it would never be possible to see Metsamor equipped
according to European standards, and that the country did not possess
alternative energy resources.
Despite the fact that no other nuclear power plant in the world had
ever started up again after six years of full closure, the Metsamor
plant -- damaged in the 1988 Armenian earthquake -- was re-opened in
1995 by the Armenian government.
When both the EU and the IAEA brought up the issue of closing down
Metsamor -- a plant that supplied 40 percent of Armenia's electrical
power -- Ashot Martirosian, head of the Armenia State Nuclear Energy
Control Committee, asserted the plant in fact posed no risk to the
region. He also pointed to the 1980 construction date of the plant,
noting that its life span was in fact 30 years, and that since it had
been shut down between 1989 and 1995, it could thus now be expected
to produce electricity until 2016. He also stated that the reactors
had been repaired every three to four years, and that no serious
problems with them had been encountered so far.
If the Metsamor nuclear power plant does, in fact, experience a
serious accident, the countries most at risk from this would be Turkey,
Iran and Azerbaijan. The plant lies in the Hoktamberian province of
Armenia, which is very close to the Turkish border. Though the Turkish
government has never engaged in any attempts to see the plant shut
down, in January 2003 Kars Mayor Naif Alibeyoglu applied to both the
IAEA and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), saying he would
be opening a legal case to push for closure of the plant.
If the Kars Municipality were to cooperate with the Green Party,
and pull further European environmental groups onto their side, it is
possible to say that they would have a chance at winning this case in
the ECtHR. This is because, most strikingly, this nuclear power plant
relies on outdated technology, and lies right on top of a fault line.
In addition, Armenia had promised in the past, as a member of the
European Council, that the plant would be shut down. If action were
taken by both Turkey and Europe to see this happen, it would no doubt
see results.
After construction was started on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil line,
mass protests and rallies organized by Georgian environmentalists did
take place, with demands registered for compensations to be made for
residents of the region. We say with certainty that Turkey has the
same rights to push for the closure of this nuclear power plant. It
is also true that environmentalists around the world are sensitive to
topics such as these. Despite this, environmental groups in Turkey
do not seem to realize the real risks posed by the Metsamor plant
to the environment and those living near it. While the effective
measures taken by these same environmentalists when it comes to
preventing the pollution of the Bosporus should be applauded, it is
difficult to understand their silence when it comes to the possible
"second Chernobyl" looming next door.
*Dr. Hatem Cabbarlı is the president of the Eurasia Safety and
Strategy Research Center.
From: Baghdasarian