OREANDA-NEWS. December 30, 2008. Just 39 incidents were registered during the year against 47 in 2007. “Russian nuclear power plants are among the safest in the world: we have one of the lowest incident per reactor rate in the world,” says the deputy general inspector of Energoatom Concern OJSC Igor Zonov.

In 2008 the safety situation at the Russian NPPs was stable:

• no “1” or higher INES events;
• no grave accidents or instances of excessive radiation exposure;
• emission of radioactive matters was much lower than the admissible level;
• no fires;
• no incidents causing serious contamination of the environment;
• no serious deficiencies recorded by inspections.

Such performance is the result of efficient and well-coordinated work of the plants, the contractor organizations and the central office of Energoatom Concern OJSC.

Zonov says that in 2008 Energoatom Concern paid enhanced attention to the safety of the construction of new nuclear reactors and adopted a special program to enhance the efficiency of control over the safety of NPP construction projects.

“The IAEA and WANO inspections conducted at the Russian NPPs in 2008 have confirmed that our plants comply with the highest international safety standards,” says Zonov.