Armenian ministry of energy shrugs off ungrounded claims of Turkish
parliament members
YEREVAN, April 9, /ARKA/. Armenian ministry of energy and natural
resources shrugged off today ungrounded allegations by some members of
the Turkish parliament questioning the safe operation of Armenian
nuclear power plant in Metsamor.
Particularly, Turkey’s Peace and Democracy Party demanded that Turkish
parliament launch an investigation into Armenia’s nuclear power plant
located in Metsamor, saying that built in 1978, it is located in a
seismic zone and is the last but one by its safeness in a list of
nuclear plants of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The party also said that nuclear power plants must be located at least
90 km away from populated areas while the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant
is only 20 off the Turkish town of Igdir and 50 km off Armenia’s
capital Yerevan.
In retaliation the Armenian ministry said the safe operation of
Metsamor plant is dealt with by a special presidential atomic energy
security commission, comprising the best specialist in the area and
all safety related operations are coordinated by IAEA. It said also in
accordance with Nuclear Security Convention Armenia presents to IAEA
its national report on nuclear security every three years, which is
open to all members of IAEA.
Regarding the seismic security of the plant, the Armenian ministry
said a team of international experts conducted a seismic security
study of the plant in 2009 finding there were no reasons of concern.
The ministry also said that 2.1 million Armenians live within 50 km
radius of the plant and only 126,000 in Turkey.
Armenia wants to replace the aging Metsamor plant by 2017. With a
projected capacity of 1,060 megawatts, the new facility would be more
than twice as powerful as Metsamor’s sole operating reactor that
generates more than 40% of Armenia’s electricity and will serve for 60
years and secure European safety level.
The Armenian government has yet to attract funding for the project
which is estimated to cost as much as $5 billion. In an attempt to
attract foreign investors Armenian parliament revoked a state monopoly
on ownership of nuclear power facilities. Construction is expected to
start in 2011. Under a 2003 agreement Armenian nuclear power plant’s
financial flows are managed by Russian Inter RAO UES, owned by Russian
state-run Rosatom corporation. The agreement expires in 2013. -0-
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
