Prime minister says Armenia ready for stress test of Metsamor operational safety
11.05.2011,
00:37
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 f
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.-0-
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.-0-
