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EurasiaNet.org, NY
May 14 2013
Belarus Seeks Nuclear Advice from Armenia
May 14, 2013 - 8:18am, by Giorgi Lomsadze
Belarus' leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka went down to Armenia this week
to pick President Serzh Sargsyan's brain about how to operate nuclear
reactors.
That might sound like the beginning of an anecdote, but it's for real.
Belarus plans to build two nuclear power plants and, so, any safety
tips from Armenia would be much appreciated, Lukashenka said on May 13
in Yerevan.
`You have serious experience in exploiting such facilities and we hope
Armenia will be able to send at least a dozen good specialists so that
they assist us in the initial stages of operating the
under-construction power plants,' Lukashenka told Sargsyan, RFE/RL
reported.
Armenia's nuclear expertise comes in the form of a rusty, Soviet-era
plant that huffs and puffs in the town of Metsamor, thirty kilometers
west of Yerevan. Built in the 1970s, Metsamor has no primary
containment enclosures to hold escaping radiation and sits in an
earthquake and conflict-prone vicinity. The plant was put on the back
burner during the devastating 1988 earthquake, but was reopened in
1993 as Azerbaijani and Turkish blockades starved Armenia of energy.
Citing safety concerns, the US and EU both have pled with the Armenian
government to modernize the Russian-operated plant. Armenia plans to
replace the plant with a modern facility soon, but, in the meantime,
the tired plant continues churning out 405.7 megawatts of power,
feeding some 40 percent of Armenia's needs.
Nonetheless, Lukashenka is convinced he needs Armenia's two cents on
nuclear safety; even though the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, which had a
devastating effect on Belarus, might have taught him that Soviet-made
plants do not provide examples of the best safety practices.
Lukashenka even plans to visit Metsamor. Perhaps after touring the
facility, he will seek a second opinion.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/66959
May 14 2013
Belarus Seeks Nuclear Advice from Armenia
May 14, 2013 - 8:18am, by Giorgi Lomsadze
Belarus' leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka went down to Armenia this week
to pick President Serzh Sargsyan's brain about how to operate nuclear
reactors.
That might sound like the beginning of an anecdote, but it's for real.
Belarus plans to build two nuclear power plants and, so, any safety
tips from Armenia would be much appreciated, Lukashenka said on May 13
in Yerevan.
`You have serious experience in exploiting such facilities and we hope
Armenia will be able to send at least a dozen good specialists so that
they assist us in the initial stages of operating the
under-construction power plants,' Lukashenka told Sargsyan, RFE/RL
reported.
Armenia's nuclear expertise comes in the form of a rusty, Soviet-era
plant that huffs and puffs in the town of Metsamor, thirty kilometers
west of Yerevan. Built in the 1970s, Metsamor has no primary
containment enclosures to hold escaping radiation and sits in an
earthquake and conflict-prone vicinity. The plant was put on the back
burner during the devastating 1988 earthquake, but was reopened in
1993 as Azerbaijani and Turkish blockades starved Armenia of energy.
Citing safety concerns, the US and EU both have pled with the Armenian
government to modernize the Russian-operated plant. Armenia plans to
replace the plant with a modern facility soon, but, in the meantime,
the tired plant continues churning out 405.7 megawatts of power,
feeding some 40 percent of Armenia's needs.
Nonetheless, Lukashenka is convinced he needs Armenia's two cents on
nuclear safety; even though the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, which had a
devastating effect on Belarus, might have taught him that Soviet-made
plants do not provide examples of the best safety practices.
Lukashenka even plans to visit Metsamor. Perhaps after touring the
facility, he will seek a second opinion.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/66959