This file is no longer being updated. For information on
developments in the nuclear power industry, please see the Nuclear
Power Developments section.
Kurchatov, 40km southwest of Kursk
Address: Kurskaya AES, Kurchatov, Kursk
Oblast 307239
Telephone: (0712) 336962 or (095) 2206243
Plant Manager: Yu. Slepokon
RBMK-1000 LWGR
Four
Unit 1: initial criticality 10/76* (operational 12/76)
Unit 2: initial criticality 12/78** (operational 1/79)
Unit 3: initial criticality 8/83 (operational 10/83)
Unit 4: initial criticality 10/85 (operational 12/85)
925 MWe per operating unit
Enriched to 2 percent
Unit 1 was brought back on line in 1997 after reconstruction.[1] As
of 13 November 1996, Units 2, 3, and 4 were in operation. Unit 2 was reopened
in April 1999 after reconstruction.
In 1996, a new security
system, consisting of a 30km security zone, a check-point system, and special
police, FSB, and Ministry of Emergency Situations units, was
set up at the Kursk power plant.
Since 1996, the US Department of Energy (DOE) has
been assisting with safety improvements at Kursk, particularly focusing
on improving the safety of day-to-day operations. DOE has supported
plant personnel training to develop improved operating safety procedures
and the drafting of emergency operating instructions to improve accident
mitigation strategies. The transfer of training methodology and materials for
safety and maintenance measures developed at the Balakovo Training
Center to the Kursk plant is ongoing. Kursk NPP instructors have been
trained and the development of a pilot course on laser shaft alignment
has been completed. To support the training program, basic equipment such
as office machines, office equipment, and office supplies were provided.
Mechanical pump/motor shaft equipment, machines to cut and prepare pipes
for welding, valve-seat resurfacing equipment, a pipe lathe/weld-preparation
machine and a shaft alignment system were sent to enhance operational safety.
The DOE installed and tested several engineering and technology upgrades
including seismically qualified batteries, a safety parameter display system,
and an emergency water supply system. Automated ultrasonic test equipment
and prototypes for high temperature protective clothing for inspecting
steam leaks were also provided. To improve plant safety evaluations, Scientific
Research and Design Institute of Energy Technologies (NIKIET) was contracted to do a detailed safety
assessment of Unit 1.
This nuclear power plant site serves as a temporary storage
facility for RBMK spent fuel.[1] As of October 1996, the Kursk solid waste
storage facility was 99.1 percent full. Due to the shortage of regional
temporary waste burial sites, waste is stored on the territory of the plant.
In November 1999 Russia's first processor of low-level radioactive waste
began operating at Kursk NPP. According to Kursk NPP Chief Engineer
Vyacheslav Ryakhin, the processor can handle 1,000kg of radioactive waste
in 24 hours, gathering the ashes and cleaning the fumes generated during
processing.[2] The evaporation method is used for liquid waste decanted
from the pulp of processed ion exchange resin and pearlite.[3] See also
the Waste Developments section, below.
According to a June 2000 Interfax report, Kursk-5
is supposed to come on line in 2005.[1] As of 1995, the RBMK-1000 unit was 70 percent
complete; it was to have been completed and put
into operation by 1998 at
a cost of $391.5 million.[2] Some sources indicate that Unit 5 was upgraded from the original design,
but will not include a containment structure.[3,4] Gosatomnadzor instructed Kursk NPP to close down Unit 2 in
mid-1997 for reconstruction; it was reopened in April 1999 (see the 4/99
entry, below).
(For more recent developments,
see the Nuclear
Power Developments file):
4/99: KURSK NPP
SECOND UNIT RESUMES OPERATION
After a year of reconstruction, the
second unit of Kursk NPP has been put into operation. Now it will be able
to generate 1 million kW/hour of electricity a year. According to Kursk
NPP engineer Nikolay Beletskiy, the performance reliability of the 1700
assembly channels was increased and the safety systems are now nine times
more efficient than the old ones.
3/19/99: OLD
EQUIPMENT AND NUCLEAR WASTE STOCKPILES CHALLENGE SAFETY AT KURSK NPP
There were 29 operational disruptions
at the Kursk NPP in 1998, compared to 11 in 1997. According to a 19 March
1999 article in Smena, the increased number of incidents is due
to aging equipment. In addition, large stockpiles of spent nuclear
fuel are increasing safety risks.
11/96: MEETING HELD ON FINANCING KURSK-5 CONSTRUCTION
During the week of 10 November 1996, a meeting was held at
the Kursk NPP to work out ways to finish construction of the plant's Unit
5, which is only 70-80 percent complete. The participants included representatives
from the Chernozem association for economic cooperation, Kursk Oblast officials,
and Kursk NPP management. The participants decided to draw up an agreement
on extending material and financial credits, to be repaid in electricity.
However, since participants felt that potential creditors will not be able
to meet all construction needs, they decided to ask the government to provide
2.23 trillion rubles in credit.
3/26/96: KURSK-5 TO BE COMPLETED BY 2000
According to Rosenergoatom's investment manager, Vladimir
Severinov, completion of Kursk-5 is expected by 2000.
12/3/95: KURSK SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH GERMAN FIRM
Interfax reported that Kursk signed an agreement with the
German Company for Nuclear Containers, a subsidiary of Nukem, to build
a nuclear waste storage facility and 240 storage containers for the Kursk
facility. The German company will oversee production quality, train specialists,
and provide the expertise for the container production.
11/95: TWO WORKERS EXPOSED TO RADIATION DURING
KURSK INCIDENT--INES 2
A plug in a fuel rod ruptured, exposing two workers to radiation
doses above the permitted limit while they attempted to extract the fuel
assembly from a fuel channel. The event was given a final rating of two
on the International Nuclear Events Scale (INES).
10/26/95: KURSK PLANT SECURITY TIGHTENED
In response to threats of attack from the Chechen terrorist
leader Shamil Basayev, the Kursk nuclear power plant has been surrounded
by six defense posts to ensure its safety.
9/27/95: GOSATOMNADZOR UNHAPPY WITH KURSK UNIT
2
Gosatomnadzor experts have grown dissatisfied with the insufficient technical
and engineering support of Unit 2. Unit 2 has not yet undergone the reconstruction
needed to upgrade safety levels.
8/95: KURSK UNIT 1 TO BE RESTARTED NO SOONER THAN
1998
It was reported that Russia agreed not to restart Unit 1
at the Kursk NPP before 1998.
1/95: SIMULATORS AT KURSK UNITS 1-4
It was reported that there are simulators in operation and
under construction at Kursk Units 1 to 4.
9/94: KURSK UNIT 3 MAY HAVE BEEN SHUT DOWN
Reportedly Unit 3 has been shut down because steam had leaked
from a high pressure cylinder. Units 2 and 3 are operating at only 70 percent
capacity.
6/94: CONTRACT SIGNED
SGN/Eurisys Network and Rosenergoatom signed a contract under
which spent fuel from this reactor will be placed into wells using the
Cascade process. Kursk can store 8,000 tons.
1994: KURSK STORAGE POOLS OVERFLOWING
By the end of 1994, it had become impossible to perform
"emergency core unloading" at all Kursk units due to over-filled cooling
and storage ponds. Safety regulations require that sufficient space be
left in cooling ponds to allow for the unloading of the reactor core in
the event of an emergency. Officials have turned to "reracking," or packing
spent fuel more densely, into current storage facilities.
Last updated 28 November 2000
For more recent developments,
see the Nuclear
Power Developments file.
Comments or questions? Contact Cristina Chuen at MIIS CNS: cristina.chuen@miis.edu
This material is produced independently for NTI
by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the
Monterey Institute of International Studies and
does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has
not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers,
employees, agents. Copyright © 2002 by MIIS.
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