Armenia’s nuclear power plants threatens entire region

By Azernews

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

A hearing held on October 18 in the Armenian parliament called "Sustainable Armenia" once again highlighted the enormous danger posed by some technogenic facilities in Armenia, especially obsolete Metsamor nuclear power plant (NPP) that is located in a seismically active zone and threatens the entire South Caucasus region.

The construction of the Metsamor NPP started in 1970. The plant was shut down following a devastating earthquake in the town of Spitak in 1988. However, in 1995, despite numerous protests of international community, the Armenian government resumed the operation of the NPP, and moreover, launched a second nuclear reactor.

A strong earthquake can have a catastrophic effect on the Metsamor NPP, lead to an accident and contamination with radioactive materials not only in Armenia but also in the neighboring countries.

Such fears were only confirmed by the speech of the specialist in emergency situations, Rector of the Academy of Crisis Management Hamlet Matevosyan.

In his speech in the Armenian parliament, the expert touched upon safety hazards in buildings in Armenian capital Yerevan. Matevosyan said that the construction of buildings is carried out without observing the necessary standards of seismic safety. Safety rules were violated during the reconstruction of these buildings. The expert stressed that the large-scale destructions during earthquakes in Armenia is due to the low quality of construction work in the city.

It’s worth mentioning that Yerevan was purposefully destroyed to the ground and built “from scratch” in the early XX century. Armenian nationalists completely destroyed the historic Azerbaijani city of Iravan and today, nothing is left in present-day Yerevan that would remind the city’s real history when it was part of Azerbaijan.

Repaired several years ago, Metsamor NPP is operating despite all wear and tear on it. Moreover, given corruption in Armenia, the money allocated for safety measures, in particular for preventive repairs at NPPs, could have simply been stolen.

It is noteworthy that none of the Armenian parliamentarians and experts raised the NPP safety issue while expressing their concern over earthquake fears. This is despite the fact that in his speech Matevosyan noted that an earthquake is not a disaster, but a geological phenomenon, which can be avoided with proper preparation of the consequences.

To avoid catastrophic consequences, it is necessary first of all to close the Metsamor NPP and thereby neutralize the time bomb that poses a threat to Armenia and the entire South Caucasus region. However, neither Matevosyan nor other parliamentarians spoke about closing of the nuclear power plant in their country.

If Armenia at the state level doesn’t care about the consequences of its power plant explosion, this issue should be raised by the world community without waiting for the catastrophe to take place. The immediate closure of the Metsamor NPP and taking under strict international control of radioactive substances in the territory of Armenia is required since there are already a huge number of proofs confirming that radioactive materials from Armenia are illegally imported into other countries.