Radiation situation in Armenia normal: official
14.03.2011,
19:19
Armenian authorities said the explosions at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan caused by a powerful earthquake have had no impact on the radiation situation in Armenia.
YEREVAN, March 14, /ARKA/. Armenian authorities said the explosions at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan caused by a powerful earthquake have had no impact on the radiation situation in Armenia. Ashot Martirosian, chief of the State Committee for Atomic Safety Regulation, told ARKA that the radiation levels in Armenia are within normal boundaries.
A second explosion occurred Monday at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on Friday. Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said the blast, believed to be a hydrogen explosion, occurred in the No. 3 reactor of the power plant. But radiation levels around the plant, about 170 miles north of Tokyo, remained within acceptable levels. On Saturday, a hydrogen explosion occurred in the No. 1 reactor at the same power plant.
Ashot Martirosian said radiation from the Japanese plant will not reach Armenia saying that even Russia’s Far East regions located closer to Japan are free of radiation.
Mr. Martiorisna said the State Committee for Atomic Safety Regulation is watching the situation closely receiving information from the IAEA and from mass media.
The Armenian Metsamor nuclear power plant, the only in the region, is located some 30 kilometers west of Yerevan. It was built in the 1970s but was closed following a devastating earthquake in 1988. 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. Metsamor currently generates some 40 percent of Armenia's electricity. The plant is managed financially by Russian Inter RAO UES company. -0-
A second explosion occurred Monday at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on Friday. Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said the blast, believed to be a hydrogen explosion, occurred in the No. 3 reactor of the power plant. But radiation levels around the plant, about 170 miles north of Tokyo, remained within acceptable levels. On Saturday, a hydrogen explosion occurred in the No. 1 reactor at the same power plant.
Ashot Martirosian said radiation from the Japanese plant will not reach Armenia saying that even Russia’s Far East regions located closer to Japan are free of radiation.
Mr. Martiorisna said the State Committee for Atomic Safety Regulation is watching the situation closely receiving information from the IAEA and from mass media.
The Armenian Metsamor nuclear power plant, the only in the region, is located some 30 kilometers west of Yerevan. It was built in the 1970s but was closed following a devastating earthquake in 1988. 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. Metsamor currently generates some 40 percent of Armenia's electricity. The plant is managed financially by Russian Inter RAO UES company. -0-
