04.09.2019  INFORMATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT OF LENINGRAD NPP

The Russian FMBA commission confirms that the Leningrad NPP operation is safe for the population and the environment

Following the scheduled on-site verification of the Leningrad NPP held by the experts of the Russian Federal Medical and Biological Agency, it was confirmed that the nuclear facilities of the station are safe for the population and environment-friendly.

‘All Russian statutory regulations with regard to the sanitation and disease prevention for the population and the environment are fully observed at the Leningrad NPP. The company’s operations do not bear any radiation hazard for those living in the Leningrad Region and the North-Western part of the country. This was confirmed by both the outcomes of the verification and the lab analyses and environment monitoring regularly held by the FMBA in the sanitary protection zone and the Leningrad NPP observation zone. The data of the automated radiation control system also testify that the nuclear power plant is safe. The Leningrad NPP management and staff members fully appreciate their responsibility for safe operation of this crucial facility and do everything they can to avoid any misuse during the station operation’, Dmitry Tkachenko, the head of the Russian FMBA’s special radiation safety and labor conditions control department for the city of Sosnovyy Bor cross-regional department No. 122, said.

He also explained that, within two weeks, the team has reviewed almost 400 aspects related to radiation control, ionizing radiation sources handling, radioactive wastes handling, water objects and domestic water service, labor and meal conditions for the staff, medical service, etc. Apart from the document checks, the commission has visited the most crucial safety-related Leningrad NPP facilities, including those at the new VVER-1200 reactor power blocks. It was the first check for these new power blocks.

‘Safety is a top priority for the Rosenergoatom Joint-Stock Company and the Leningrad NPP. This is true for both the RBMK blocks that have undergone serious upgrades and the VVER power blocks that are now replacing those. The Leningrad nuclear power experts make it a reality that the nuclear power has to be ‘green’ and living next to an NPP and working at it should be safe!’, Vladimir Pereguda, the Leningrad NPP director, noted.

Following the Russian legislation, the next FMBA verification of the Leningrad NPP is scheduled for 2020.

The Leningrad NPP is the country’s first plant with RBMK-1000 reactors (uranium-graphite circuit-type reactor running on thermal neutrons). The decision that marked its construction was taken in September 1966 by a resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the USSR and the Council of Ministers No. 800-252. According to that document, the Leningrad NPP was supposed to become a core in a network of nuclear power plants with RBMK-1000 reactors that were supposed to produce a substantial share of electric power. The construction of the Leningrad NPP was going well, and by 1973 the first power block was fully erected. On December 23, 1973, following stable 72-hours’ operation at the capacity of 150 megawatt, the State Commission signed the acceptance certificate stating that the first power block of the Leningrad nuclear power plant is commissioned for pilot production. 


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