Armenia is interested in the security at its nuclear plant more than others
The Armenian Metsamor nuclear plant is the only nuclear plant in the South Caucasus. It has been the focus of experts’ and politicians’ attention for quite a while now: the project of construction of a new power-generation unit raised a great number of security and ecological concerns. In addition to that, the staff of the power station expressed their discontent with the level of salaries. Russia is optimistic about the idea of construction of the new unit, while other neighboring countries expressed their deepest concerns with their ecological security, as the existing Metsamor Units are out of date.
After the station’s staff addressed Armenian President Serge Sarksyan, saying that due to inflation and crisis their salaries are insufficient to support their families any more, while the observers, in their turn, expressed concern about the danger of qualified personnel resignations and the low level of qualifications of the plant’s remaining employees. It is true that the plant's employees’ average salary is still higher than that of the general population. After a month-long discussion, their salaries were increased by 10%, and that stabilized the situation. The plant managed to preserve its most valuable personnel. What is more, a career at the nuclear plant is starting to appeal to young people as a very promising one, so a newly-qualified staff reserve is being formed rapidly.
Expert attention was also drawn to recent claims made by Russian representatives. It is no secret that Russia regards the Armenian nuclear power plant as leverage for increasing its influence in Armenia and in the whole region. Russia practically guaranteed its prevalence in Armenian by supporting the new unit’s construction by signing a joint contract with the Armenian side a year ago. Russia promised to finance 20% of the construction cost.
However, Russia’s passive attitude towards the construction after the signing of the agreement displeased Yerevan. According to opposition media, Russia lost all its interest in the Armenian project and is thinking of constructing its own new nuclear plant. However, Russian officials and representatives of the ‘Rosatom’ company hurried to deny these claims.
Turkey has repeatedly expressed its concern about the Armenian nuclear plant and demanded its shutdown. In response, the Armenian Energy Minister pointed out that the IAEA OSART deemed the plant safe for exploitation after a thorough examination.
The first unit of the station was built in 1976, about thirty kilometres west of the Armenian capital of Yerevan in the city of Metsamor. The plant was constructed with two VVER-440 Model V230 nuclear reactors. After the great Armenian quake of 1998 the Soviet authorities shut down the station. It was re-opened with the help of Russian specialists in 1995 after 6 years of conservation. Back then the West didn’t protest, as it helped resolve the energy hunger in the country.
In 2006 the Armenian government stated that the old unit would be taken out of exploitation in 2016 and promised to wind up the operations of the outdated unit as soon as possible in the framework of the ‘New European Neighborhood” initiative.
The security of the plant’s operations is one of the Armenian government’s top priorities. The standards of security increase by the year. 1200 actions to boost the plant’s security, costing 130 million dollars, have been carried out since its reopening in 1995. The IAEA coordinates these efforts. Yerevan submits a nuclear security report to this organization three times a year
Turkish politicians claim that they are concerned about the ecology of their eastern provinces – but it is obvious that no one could possibly be more interested in the security and harmlessness of the Armenian nuclear station than Armenia itself.
Susanna Petrosyan, exclusively to VK
