BACKGROUND: Oldest Chernobyl-type reactors operate on Gulf of Finland shore
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By Heli Saavalainen
The Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant generates electricity with the help of four RBMK-type reactors. They are the same type that were used in the plant that exploded in the Chernobyl accident in 1986.
The 1000-megawatt reactors are the oldest Chernobyl-type reactors in use. They came on line in 1973, 1975, 1979, and 1981.
The scheduled lifetime of the units is 30 years, but Rosenergoatom plans to extend it by another 15 years. The number-one reactor has been granted permission to stay on line until the end of 2006.
Security measures have been upgraded. A separate safety building has been added to unit 1, containing systems for cooling down the reactor, if necessary. A security building for the second unit is under construction.
Rust-proofing has begun on the pipes of the cooling system, which have been in the ground for nearly 40 years. They will be coated from the inside.
Finland began to work together with Russia to enhance the safety of nuclear power plants in nearby areas in 1992.
Heikki Reponen, the head of the expert service unit of the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority in Finland, says that weaknesses were noted in the operational and fire safety, and in the physical shielding of the plant.
Finland has supplied the plant with fire detectors and firefighting equipment, turnstile gates, card readers, and other access control devices.
A radiation monitoring network has been built around the power plant, and the readings can also be read in Finland.
Finland has provided EUR 7 million in aid for the safety projects.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 14.5.2005
More on this subject:
 Russia wants to extend life of Sosnovyi Bor nuclear plant through 2026
FACTFILE: Sosnovyi Bor - a closed city
HELI SAAVALAINEN / Helsingin Sanomat
heli.saavalainen@hs.fi
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