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The future of nuclear power engineering is being shaped
The Chernobyl catastrophy could not but affect the development of nuclear industry in the USSR as well as in the rest of the world. That is why any steps towards developing and expanding nuclear power sources are regarded with particular caution everywhere. On the other hand, there is no reasonable alternative to the nuclear power industry in the long run. Its development is a vital necessity of the mankind. Naturally, it should be done on an essentially new level of technology, and, what is the most important, providing the best possible safety of future nuclear power plants. Despite its economic difficulties and continious deficits in financing science and technology, Russia, still a great nuclear power, manages to improve upon the base of scientific and technical research, necessary to ensure the future of our nuclear power industry. A proof of that is the foundation of the North-West scientific industrial center of nuclear power (SICNP) with a new generation main power block reactor VVEP-640 within the scientific and research technological institute of A.P. Alexandrov. A similar power plant with a B-407 reactor is being realized within the framework of the state project “Environmentally clean power engineering” to achieve the world’s highest criteria of operation safety and to make Russian power equipment competitive on the international market. What makes this project so special is that it is aimed at providing maximum safety and reliability of new nuclear power plants. For that purpose the SICNP center apart from its main power block includes a large scale terminal to monitor emergency processes of energy transport from the active zone of the reactor into the final energy absorption system and another terminal to study serious failures connected with fuel melting. It also has a training complex including an emergency analysis center and a center for public relations. In fact, a new center of safe nuclear engineering, a center where new nuclear technologies will be developed and tested, one of the very few of such kind in the world, is being built in the town of Sosnovy Bor. It can be compared to the Idaho National Technical Lab (USA) and the Nuclear Research Center in Cadarache (France) in regard to its complex research capacities, up-to-date equipment and unique scientific devices. An essentially new, greater level of safety of Nuclear Power Plant will be achieved through the use of passive conducting systems of residual active zone heat and a two-layer protection shell consisting of steel and concrete walls and domes. Such a construction can withstand even a plane crash or a powerful blast from the outside. Just due to this, the estimated failure probability decreases by two or three degrees of order in comparison with presently functioning nuclear power plants. In addition, the efficiency of fuel use increases by 25-30% on the new power block, the total metal consumption for one unit of power is reduced and the estimated operation time reaches 50 to 60 years. The main technical characteristics of the new generation power plant are in no sense inferior to the nuclear power plant “AP-600” made by Westighouse. A single center combines the main pilot industrial power block of the nuclear power plant, unique thermophysical terminals to study and monitor the emergency protection systems, a training complex, emergency situation analysis unit and a powerful science and engineering department with highly qualified experts in all fields of nuclear science and technology. In addition, the center is being equipped with an excellent computing facilities. All this will allow carrying out of a complete and reliable study of the safety standards of new power blocks, prepare operating personnel for the work on the main and serial power blocks as well as to thoroughly test the technology of building new nuclear power plants within a short period of time. The analysis of block functioning together with the results of studies made using the terminals and modelling complexes will clarify the tactics of block modernization towards further increase in its safety and efficiency and allow the discovery of even more perfect solutions for future nuclear power plants. Having passed through all the approval procedures from federal down to local level, the scientific and research technical institute of A.P. Alexandrov has already obtained the permission of Gosatomnadzor of Russia to build the main power block. Now, the preparatory work is being carried out at the power block site, the large-scale terminal is being built, its first line will be commissioned next year, a heavy failure terminal is being designed. The strategy of the advance commissioning of the facilities for studying and practicing the maximum safety of objects and equipment of the new generation nuclear power plants has been accepted. Full-scale power block construction work has also been launched. It is scheduled to be completed in 2003. The project of creating the North-West SICNP with the main power block of the nuclear power plant based on the VVEP-640 reactor is among the two priority projects of regional development providing privileges for the investors. The “Rosenergoatom” concern is the primary investor. The funding for the building of SICNP was allocated in the state budget of 1997. However, it is clear already, that the means of both the state budget and “Rosenergoatom” concern are not sufficient to complete such a serious project of world importance. That is why, the Nuclear department of Russia and the scientific and research technical institute are conducting an active search of national and foreign investors. In our opinion, their benefits will be incomparable with any investments: accurate and science supported data on new constructions, technologies, protection systems, optimum operating modes, etc. As a conclusion I would like to mention that the project developers are: SPbAtomenergoproject, “Gidropress” design office (Podolsk), Scientific center “Kurchatov institute” (Moscow). Such industrial giants of St.Petersburg as JSC “Izhorskie plants”, “Leningrad metal plant”, “Elektrosila”, “Kirovsky plant”, “Znamya truda”, “Russian diesel”, scientific and industrial enterprise “Avrora” and many others are also participating in the developing of the SICNP program. Therefore, the realization of our project will provide thousands of new jobs. As for the population of the town of Sosnovy Bor, it will receive considerable privileges in their power and other bills. The estimated project cost includes the large-scale financing of environment protection, restoration, preventive, health care and management events, with regard to the interests of the local population, environment systems and perspective use of natural resources. A complex ecological monitoring of environmental conditions in the nuclear power plant area will be carried out in order to analyse and predict any changes in the biosphere situation. The total costs of the construction of SICNP in the town of Sosnovy Bor amount to approximately 12 trillion rubles.
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