Sanasaryan: findings of IAEA mission mismatch reality

The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP) is obsolete; while its equipment and location are a potential hazard. The conclusions of the commission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regarding the safety of the ANPP are just a formal assessment. This statement was made today by Akop Sanasaryan, Chairman of the Union of Greens.

"The conclusions of the IAEA mission are formal and do not correspond to reality. The reality is such that the ANPP is posing risks from the environmental, seismic and operational points of view. The ANPP is just 30 km off Yerevan; and it was built in a seismic zone," said Sanasaryan.

He also expressed his disagreement with the leaders of the Ministry of Energy, which, in the opinion of the ecologist, significantly diminishes the danger of the ANPP.

Karine Danielyan, another well-known ecologist, former Minister of Nature Protection and now the chair of the organization "For Sustainable Human Development", shared the same viewpoint: "The ANPP is in a wrong place; this area had been originally chosen not for an NPP, but solar energy facilities."

Let us remind you that the IAEA experts have stated that there is a technical possibility to extend the operation of the ANPP well after 2016. The final commission report will be submitted to the government of Armenia within three months.

Calculations made at different times have shown that the ANPP has the necessary safety margin to withstand a major earthquake, said Vagram Petrosyan, Director of the Research Institute for Nuclear Power Operations. According to his story, the platform, where the ANPP was built, had been evaluated not only by Armenian but also by international seismologists as an 8-point area.

According to Armen Movsisyan, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, the problems that have arisen at the Japanese NPP "Fukushima" had been caused not by the earthquake, but by tsunami. "Besides, the ANPP had already once passed the strength trial during the earthquake of 1988. And in 1995, additional seismic studies of nearby areas were conducted, which resulted in strengthened seismic stability of the ANPP," he said.