On July 20, 1999 an international environmental anti-nuclear camp will begin operating near the Balakovo nuclear power plant (NPP) (Saratov region, Russia). Past practice has shown that the struggle of the Russian people against dangerous industrial projects in the form of protest camps is the most effective mass way to achieve environmental goals. In 1990, construction was stopped of the second part of the Balakovo NPP using this method. Now the proposed modernization of the reactors for use of uranium-plutonium (MOX) fuel calls for a new action. The use of weapons-grade plutonium as a fuel could lead to disastrous consequences not only for Balakovo, but for the rest of the world as well. Compared to conventional low-enriched uranium fuel, plutonium is thousands of times more radioactive and dangerous. It accumulates in human tissue and is very difficult for the body to expel.

The Balakovo NPP is one of the most dangerous power stations in Russia and should be gradually shut down in order to secure environmental and economic safety in Russia and also to improve the health of the people in this country. There are four VVER-1000 type reactors at Balakovo, and there are plans to increase the number of these dangerous and unnecessary reactors to six (for those interested in familiarizing themselves with technical details of the Balakovo NPP, see below).

Nuclear Safety

At the present time, the Russian nuclear industry is not able to fully ensure even elementary efforts to support safety, for example, financing preventive safety repairs on nuclear reactors. Safety assurance measures have always depended on large government subsidies; however at the present time the government is not as able to subsidize reactors, and electricity rate-payers are similarly unable to pay for them. Therefore, it is essential to begin shutting down reactors. Expenditures should be directed to the development of safer and more stable alternative (renewable) energy sources and energy efficiency measures.

Plutonium and MOX fuel

The Ministry of Atomic Energy plans to use the Balakovo NPP for its MOX program, involving the use of weapons-grade plutonium as a component of nuclear fuel. This will lead to the weakening of reactor safety, great economic losses, and heightened threats of theft of weapons-usable nuclear materials. The camp is part of a global Nix MOX campaign organized by Russian environmental organizations with the goals of preventing the development of dangerous nuclear technologies and reorienting the Russian energy complex to safe non-nuclear energy sources.

Information

All who are interested are invited to take part in the camp. We invite you to bring your own tents and any other touristic or mountaineering equipment. If you are interested in receiving additional information or you have any questions about the camp, please contact us as soon as possible:

For more information:
In Moscow: the Anti-Nuclear Campaign of the SEU/Ecodefense!
phone 7-095-2784642, 7766546. E-mail: ecodefense@glasnet.ru
In Saratov: the Center for Coordination of Environmental Initiatives, phone 7-8452-263804, E-mail: volga@glasnet.ru

THE BALAKOVO NUCLEAR POWER STATION: TECHINCAL DETAILS

The Balakovo nuclear power station is located in the town of Balakovo, Saratov region. The construction cycle was started up in 1980. Three water-cooled reactors VVER-1000 were put into operation consequently in 1985, 1987 and 1988. The Unit 4 had been built by 1990 and had to be started up then. However it did not happen because of public and local council members' protests against putting the Unit into operation with no environmental assessment provided. Two more units were being built during 1987-1988, but in 1990 close-down works had been started. Units 7 and 8 (VVER-1000 in design) were planned to be built. More than that, according to the basic project 24 Units were planned to be constructed along the Volga river.

On June 27, 1985, when testing Unit 1 with no fuel loaded (so called "hot trial") the first circulation circuit break occurred (steam pipeline, 900 mm). Steam 300 degrees centigrade hot penetrated into the room, where workers were engaged. As a result 14 people died. In 1988, steam generators in Units 1 and 3 failed to operate properly and were replaced. The replaced steam generators are stored directly in the territory of the power plant as railroad agencies rejected to carry the generators by rail, because of high radioactivity and poor packaging of this freight. In 1989, as a result of an incident in the Unit 1 5 liters of heavy water leaked into the cooling pond of the power plant (according to power plant workers witnesses). In 1990, heat exchange devices failed to operate properly, but it could not be stored in the storage of the plant special block because of its overall dimensions, and it still remains in the technological corridor of this block. In 1991, three fire incidents occurred at the power station and three technological emergencies taken place resulted in fire ( according to Balakovo fire safety department). On March, 3-4, 1992 there was registered a fire incident in Unit 3. Unit 3 electrogenerator cable caught fire, while the Unit was operating.

The cooling pond is not a man-made water reservoir, but the Volga natural branch. The dam is not separated, hence the water is freely circulating between the cooling pond and the river. There is a serious threat of the power station basement flooding with its further complete destruction in case Samara dam (a town up the Volga) will break. When being installed the Unit 2 was dropped. Then the Unit was reinstalled with only visual examination provided. Several technological violations were committed during construction cycle: marble pad (up to the project) were replaced by limestone, which was immediately influenced by ground waters. The limestone is being "soaked" with ground waters, as a result the power station basement is being flooded. Flooding process is progressing; ground water level increment is as high as one meter per year. The fishing farm that is planned to be built nearby, in the Kotmin ravin, will most probably accelerate flooding process. Both temperature rise and hostile activity of ground waters have produced significant impact on geophysical state of soil. Now water is being pumped out from under power plant ground. This process may possibly lead to the Unit 1 sinking into the emptiness, which appear under the ground as a result of ground-water-to-limestone, though the nuclear station high ranks allege that the situation is under control. This information was provided by Nuclear stations projects R&D Institute, so as the following data: such isotopes as cobalt-60, manganum-54 were detected in the ground water flooding over the power plant basement. This means that contamination process has been already triggered. The cooling pond water has 4 times as high level of tritium presence as water in the reservoir. Spent fuel is also stored within the power plant territory. The Units go on sinking ahead of the time calculated up to the project. This problem tackles the Unit 1 first of all: there is a "counter load" ( a concrete square beam) placed on this Unit block roof to provide the reactor main components in horizontal plane ( data presented by State nuclear inspectors office at Balakovo power plant). Unit 4, built and prepared for start-up, has no cooling pond yet. After this Unit start-up it is supposed to be cooled using the other Units cooling ponds, while those Units are shut down. According to the Ministry of nuclear energy, in 1989, there were 30 non-scheduled stops of the Units registered ( 14 - through the personnel faults),in 1990 - 15 stops (4 - through the personnel faults), in 1991 - 13 stops ( 4 - through the personnel faults).

In 1991, this value reached 50 non-scheduled stops. In July, 1992 a decision was taken by the Minor Council of Saratov regional Soviet to submit a request to the Supreme Council of RF in order to freeze the plan for the second series of Balakovo Units construction. Fuel was not charged into the Unit 4 because of public activities. Though later Balakovo power station had been listed as one of the items in nuclear power sites construction agenda according to the enactment No.1026 of 12/28/1992. As a result, in the end of 1993 nuclear fuel was for the first time charged into the reactor, and it was put into operation on March, 24, 1993. The Unit came up to full capacity in a week and then it became a new supply source for the power network.

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