Armenia expands cooperation with U.S. on nuclear security

YEREVAN, February 9. /ARKA/. The government of Armenia has given green light today to signing an agreement on "Cooperation and Exchange in Technical Information on Nuclear Safety between the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Committee of Armenia and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)."

Under the agreement, the NRC will support Armenian colleagues in strengthening the country’s regulatory body, in the development of skills and abilities of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant’s personnel, including the licensing stages for construction of a new NPP, as well as in analyzing and assessment of safety.

Scientific and technical assistance under the agreement will promote physical protection of the Armenian NPP, implementation of nuclear nonproliferation guarantees, the safety of radioactive materials and waste, environmental monitoring and development of safety-related regulatory documents.

Cooperation between Armenia and the U.S. on technical exchange of information on nuclear safety issues has been implemented since 1995 and has been prolonged many times.

In December 2021, the U.S. proposed a new agreement providing for cooperation on nuclear and radiation safety regulation in the field of atomic energy use.

The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant 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. 

In March 2014, Armenian government decided to extend the plant’s service life up to 2026. The extension was financed by a Russian $270 million loan and a $30 million grant.  

In June, 2022 the Armenian NPP CJSC and the Rusatom Overseas JSC (a division of Russian state atomic concern Rosatom) signed a MoU to start preparations for building a new nuclear power unit in Armenia. --0--