Expert: The attitude of Armenian public to the nuclear power industry is demonstrated not by the promise

ArmInfo. "It's painful to look at what is happening today at the Armenian nuclear power plant," he said in an interview with the correspondent. ArmInfo veteran of the Armenian energy, executive secretary of the Union of Veterans of Armenian Nuclear Energy Martun Gevorgyan.

According to him, the station is currently implementing the second stage of the program to extend the life of the Armenian nuclear power plant jointly with the Russian corporation Rosatom. But, at the same time, the Armenian side in this project acts as an outside observer, although it is the customer of the program. "In the early 1990s, we also attracted a Russian loan for restarting the station, but then we were in charge of credit resources, of course, since the nuclear power plant was built using Soviet (Russian) technologies, then the equipment purchased then was mainly of Russian manufacture. But, at the same time, we also purchased equipment and instruments from other suppliers  Siemens, for example, and other manufacturers, "the expert said, adding that now everything is solved unilaterally, in one place. "One side brings, mounts and surrenders, and the Armenian side is often forced to put up with what is supplied, which is cheap and not always of high quality. The customer tries to prevent this, but once the team entered, it means that we must do it. Of course, the Armenian side is trying to persuade partners not to pursue cheapness and this sometimes turns out. We, the veterans, simply hurt for the station, "Martun Gevorgyan said.

On the other hand, the veteran of nuclear energy noted that currently there is a real struggle between the partners in the project for more involvement of Armenian workers and specialists in the project, since the invitation to a large number of Russian specialists for the same work will lead to a significant rise in the cost of these works. "Yes, and Russians themselves are much harder now, they have made many commitments to build and upgrade a large number of stations, and the solution of these tasks requires a sufficient number of specialists in a narrow profile." The same Bushehr in Iran, four nuclear units in Turkey, Hungary, the construction of new blocks in South America, India, China, Bangladesh require the attraction of significant human resources, which is not enough, so it is unclear why not to use our Armenian specialists, who in their own way Yes, many of them now work at various nuclear power plants abroad and they would gladly return to their homes to families and take up work, but, unfortunately, the accent is placed on invited experts who have to pay more and provide housing and all this within the framework of credit funds.At Armenia, taking the opportunity, is interested in the return of these people to their homeland, "the expert said.

At the same time, he also called for the optimization of the station management system. "At the station, procurement issues are dealt with as many as 40 people. When we restarted the station in the 90's, the supply department was five times smaller and, nevertheless, we managed to restart the nuclear power plant.  I do not understand this humor, "Gevorgyan said. Moreover, the same procurement department, according to him, delivers what he descends from above and not always what is needed. The chiefs of the shops have to get themselves out of the situation. I do not want to go into all these technical issues, but the soul of our veteran generation is hurting the state of the station. Moreover, a considerable number of veterans who are still able to teach something to young people are being reduced today. Without them, the guys will be very hard. Wow, but veterans still give their experience somehow to the younger generation, "the expert explained.

In this vein, Gevorgyan also referred to  the issue of the construction of a new nuclear block, a solution for which is not yet available. "We are veterans, and especially the young people who work outside the borders of Armenia today, after working on the modernization of the old block, could be harnessed to work and to build a new one. In this case, according to international practice, it takes up to 8 years, but it is desirable to take it more quickly and build a block much faster to ensure the necessary level of profitability. "In April, we are waiting for the delegation of the International Union of Nuclear Veterans, one of the points of the visit's agenda will be meetings with members of the Armenian government and discussion of the construction of a new unit, as well as the possibility of assistance from the International Union of Nuclear Veterans. The sides will try to convince the Armenian side of the need to build a new bloc. Unfortunately, at present the public's attitude towards nuclear energy is not he promised, which at one time guided us, "- said the expert.

In October of last year at a meeting of the Council for the Safety of Atomic Energy under the President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan stated the need to attach special importance to the issue of training personnel for the nuclear energy of Armenia. "Involving young specialists in this area is a vital necessity, ensuring the continuity of generations and maintaining the infrastructure in the country.  The Armenian nuclear power plant consists of two units with Soviet (Russian) WWER reactors. The first unit was commissioned in 1976, the second - in 1980. In March 1989, after the Spitak earthquake, which killed 25 thousand people, the station's work was stopped. In November 1995, in connection with the most acute energy crisis, the second power unit of the station with a capacity of 407.5 MW was involved.  In March 2014, the Armenian government decided to extend the life of the second power unit by 10 years - until 2026. The project is coordinated by the subsidiary structure of the State Corporation Rosatom - JSC Rusatom Service. Completion of work is planned for 2019. The Government of the Russian Federation allocated a $ 270 million state export loan to Armenia and a $ 30 million grant for these purposes. In March 2015, the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) was established to implement the program.