TURKISH ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY: NO LEAKAGE FROM ARMENIA’S METSAMOR REACTOR
Today’s Zaman, Turkey
May 9 2007
The Turkish Atomic Energy Agency (TAEK) has said that there has been
no radioactive leakage from the Armenian Metsamor Nuclear Reactor,
located on the border between Turkey and Armenia.
"None of the radioactivity analyses or RESAI station measurements done
up until now have uncovered radioactivity or radiation levels above
normal," said TAEK officials. The body was responding to an earlier
article by Today’s Zaman that indicated the plant was experiencing
radioactive leakage. "Your newspaper’s April 11, 2007 edition had
an article entitled ‘Data shows increased radioactive leakage from
Metsamor’. This article contained news which indicated that data
taken from 13 TAEK warning stations around Iðdir and Kars showed
an increase in radioactive leakage from the Metsamor reactor," TAEK
stated, before going on to refute the claims.
The Armenian Metsamor Nuclear Reactor, which is composed of two
WWER-440-230 units, each with power levels of 408 mega watts, is
located not far from the capital Yerevan, 16 kilometers from the
Turkish border. The Armenian government decided to open the second
unit in the reactor in 1993, due to high energy needs, and thus the
second unit was started up in 1995. The Metsamor reactor provides
up to 40 percent of Armenia’s electricity needs, and is predicted
to continue doing so until 2016. Since Yerevan decided upgrade the
reactor TAEK has been involved in following related developments and
taking the necessary precautions from the Turkish side.
An important part of taking necessary actions in the wake of a
possible nuclear power plant accident is the timely access to
correct information after the accident. Along these lines, Turkey
is a supporter of all international accords on early warning in the
case of nuclear reactor accidents. One of TAEK’s actions has been to
set up a national early warning system, RESA, with regards to nuclear
reactors in neighboring countries. This system works 24-hours-a-day,
and with the help of 78 stations set up throughout Turkey, takes
constant measurements of radiation levels. When airborne gamma
radiation rises above threshold levels, this system automatically
warns the TAEK Crisis Center in Ankara. Of these 78 stations, 14 are
grouped in the region that lies near the Metsamor reactor.
In order to keep close watch over the Turkish regions that could
theoretically be affected by radiation or radioactivity from the
Metsamor reactor, TAEK along with various ministries, institutes
and foundations, has formed a tight infrastructure of control in the
area. Kafkas University, located in the Kars province, has a laboratory
established in 1995 that takes environmental measurements and carries
out analyses of the situation in the region. This laboratory also
carries out sample analyses of local soil, plant, and food. Both the
Environment and Forestry Ministry and TAEK take soil and underground
water samples from four Turkish cities near the Metsamor reactor and
test them every six months for warning signs of increased radiation and
radioactivity. In 2006, these tests were enlarged to cover 81 different
towns and cities, as well as to include plant and food samples.
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