Armenia commits to implement OSART recommendations within 18 months

YEREVAN, June 2. / ARKA /. The Armenian nuclear power plant has committed to implement the recommendations of the Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) acting under the aegis of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s to improve its operational safety within 18 months, chief executive director of the plant, Gagik Markosian, told reporters today.

A delegation of OSART arrived in Armenia May 16 for a two-week review of the operational safety of its nuclear power plant.

"We have committed to implement OSART recommendations within 18 months and have already asked IAEA to assign a repeat mission to verify their implementation," said Markosian.

Gagik Markosian welcomed the OSART assessment of the level of plant’s safety, stressing that there were disputed issues, which were mainly associated with the existing regulations in Armenia and the EU. He refrained to name the total amount of future cost of implementing the recommendations, saying that most likely they be technical and organizational costs. OSART has submitted about 30 proposals to improve the security of the nuclear plant.

According to Armenian government figures, the country has received $115 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 the plant’s 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. M.M. -0-