ArmInfo.The Armenian government at its meeting on January 10 approved the program of events for 2019-2026 on the implementation of the concept of safe management of radioactive waste (RW) and spent nuclear fuel (SNF).
As noted in the certificate - the rationale of the draft decision, solving the problem of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel is an important task for the government of the country. Currently, the Republic of Armenia has problems associated with the streamlining, organization and implementation of measures to ensure the safe management of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. The program of measures envisages the creation of a single operator on the basis of the Closed Joint Stock Company "Neutralization of Radioactive Waste". It is also planned to create a national system for accounting and control of radioactive waste. The program will also form an extrabudgetary fund for the efficient management of SNF and RA, as well as develop legal acts that will be funded from the funds accumulated in the fund. It is also planned to conduct training and retraining measures, modernize the management system of the RW and SNF and repair the spent nuclear fuel pools at the Armenian nuclear power plant. The program envisages the construction of the third phase of the 12-module storage with SNF.
According to the official website of the State Committee on Regulation of Nuclear Safety of the Armenian Government, the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) of the Armenian NPP is activated until 2020. On August 1, 2000, the State Nuclear Supervision Authority of the Republic of Armenia issued the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant license to operate the storage facility for a period of 20 years. Storage type NUHOMS-56 consists of 11 horizontal modules with 616 insulating containers. In 2005, the Armenian parliament decided to expand the storage facility, which made it possible to store up to 1,890 containers for at least 50 years.
The current Armenian NPP is located near the town of Metsamor (approximately 20-30 kilometers south of Yerevan). The station was commissioned in 1976. It was stopped in March 1989 after the Spitak earthquake in December 1988. It was reintroduced in November 1995 due to the acute energy crisis in the republic. Currently, only the second unit with a capacity of 407.5 MW is operating. On April 19, 2012, the government of Armenia approved the decision to extend the life of the second power unit of the ANPP for 10 years - until 2026. For the project, the Russian government provided Armenia with a loan of $ 270 million and a grant of $ 30 million.