Energoatom Blames ‘Untrustworthy Sources’ for Safety Scare
Radical Party MP Andriy Artemenko claims a serious accident, involving nuclear containment failure, occurred at Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant on July 16. National Nuclear Energy Generating Company of Ukraine (Energoatom) denies this information.
"As I figured out from trustworthy sources, the government is hiding the seriousness of the accident, that occurred at the first reactor of the Khmelnytskyi Plant. The containment failure of the reactor’s primary system occurred there and radioactive coolant leaked to the steam-generation unit. Besides, leakage of the nuclear fuel occurred as well," — Artemenko wrote on his Facebook page.
According to Artemenko, on Monday a meeting attended by vice-premier Volodymyr Kistion and Energy Minister Ihor Nasalyk was conducted at the Cabinet of the Ministers. Another meeting is planned on Thursday.
The press-service of Energoatom informed Interfax-Ukraine that this information is incorrect, uses ‘untrustworthy sources’ and spreads panic. Energoatom confirmed turning-off the steam-generation unit No. 1, noting that this information was already available online at the time MP Artemenko posted on Facebook. Yet Energoatom assures no radioactive leakage occurred. The background radiation at the plant and its neighbourhood is within the norm.
Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant in Netishyn, Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine. The plant is operated by the National Nuclear Energy Generating Company of Ukraine. Two VVER-1000 reactors are operational, each generating 1000 MW (net) of electricity. Construction of the first reactor started in 1981 and the first unit was put in operation in late 1987. Construction of the second reactor started in 1983 with plans to finish it in 1991. In 1990, however, construction was stopped as part of a moratorium on new plant construction. Construction was completed only in August 2004 after the moratorium was lifted.
State-owned Energoatom is operator of all four nuclear power plants in Ukraine. In total it operates 15 reactors generating 13.835 GW of electricity.
Source: Ukrayinska Pravda, Interfax-Ukraine
