Today.Az » World news » Construction of second nuclear power plant in Armenia increases risk for the whole region
06 April 2010 [11:33] - Today.Az
The upcoming construction of a second nuclear power plant in Armenia
increases the risk for the region, the director of the center for
geo-environmental monitoring of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural
Resources of Azerbaijan Ali Aliyev said.
In late 2008, the government of Armenia has agreed to build a new
nuclear power plant (NPP). In late 2010 - early 2011 it is expected to
start construction of a new block of the Armenian nuclear power plant
with a capacity of 1000 MW.
According to seismological-statistical analysis, destructive and
catastrophic earthquakes (the death of more than 500,000 people) have
repeatedly occurred in the territory of current Armenia over the
historical period, which led to total destruction of cities and
settlements (in 735 in Basarkechar area, 10 points - 10,000 people
died, in 854, 869, 893 years in Irevan region, 10 points - 224,000
people died, in 1679 in Garney, 9 points - 10,000 died, in 1827 in
Chahkadzor, 9 points, in 1840, Alaghez, 10 points - 2,000 died, in
1926, Gyumri, 8.5 points - 350 died, in 1988, in Hamamly (Spitak), 10
points - 25-50,000 people died).
According to Aliyev, the new nuclear power plant, which is planned to
be constructed, contains an element of threat. "The waste disposal of
currently operating nuclear power plant Metsamor is implemented in the
occupied territories of Azerbaijan, because for the transportation of
such waste through the territory of other countries, a special permit
of these countries is required," said the center's director.
According to him, the lack of a suitable site for the destruction of
industrial waste of Metsamor plant poses a serious threat to the
ecology of the region and people's lives.
"The main thing is that the construction of nuclear power is not
consistent with the standards of seismically sustainable construction
and, and in general, the place for nuclear power is actually wrong,
without considering the geological and tectonic and seismic conditions
of the region," he said.
According to Aliyev, the operation of nuclear
power plants that does not meet modern requirements in this region,
differing with its seismic activity is inadmissible.
The Razdan region, evaluated as 7-point zone, should actually be
rated as a 9-point zone. But this was not taken into account when
building nuclear power plants. In the new seismic zoning map prepared
by the Armenian specialists after the earthquake in Spitak, Metsamor is
assigned to the 8-9-point zone. But during the construction of
the same plant, an earthquake in seven or eight points was assigned for
this area. If to also take into account the violations that may occur
during construction, the plant will not be able to resist the
eight-nine-point earthquake.
According to Aliyev, another important issue is the destruction of
industrial waste plant, because the destruction of wastes of Metsamor
is not implemented properly. "Formerly, the destruction of these wastes
was implemented in special burial grounds for radioactive waste in the
north of the former USSR. But now, because of the impossibility of this
and the high costs, Armenia implements the destruction of wastes in an
unacceptable form. Waste discharged into the Araz River now lead to the
destruction of the living world of the Caspian Sea," said Aliyev.
/Trend/
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