Russia is planning to build two new reactors at the nuclear power plant in Sosnovyi Bor on the south shore of the Gulf of Finland.
The new units are to come on line in 2013 and 2015.
The present four reactors, built in the 1970s and 1980s, have long been a cause for concern in Finland.
Although the initially planned 30-year life span of two of the reactors has come to an end, the Russian power company running the units wants to extend their operation by another 15 years.
The continued use of the antiquated reactors is a cause of worry on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland. The Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority of Finland has provided aid to the Russians in upgrading safety at the Chernobyl-type reactors. 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 be watched in Finland.
Finland has provided EUR 7 million in aid for the safety projects.
A more extensive article on the Sosnovyi Bor nuclear power plant will be included among our weekly features on Tuesday.
