OREANDA-NEWS. July 05, 2011. Representatives of ROSATOM participated in official consultations on the Baltic NPP project organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Environment of Estonia.

The Russia group of experts included representatives of ROSATOM, Rosenergoatom Concern, St. Petersburg Atomenergoproekt and INTER RAO UES. The Estonian side at the official consultations was represented by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, as well as the utility Estonian Energy.

The representatives of ROSATOM presented on the site selection procedure and design features of Baltic NPP. “The work to select and justify the choice of a site of Baltic NPP was carried out during four years in accordance with the Russian guidelines and IAEA recommendations. Each stage of the selection process was accompanied by collection and analysis of sets of factual data. This thorough work has resulted in selection of the site which conforms to all most stringent, not only Russian but also international, recommendations,” Sergey Boyarkin, the Program Director of the Department of Capital Projects at ROSATOM, noted in his paper.

Alexander Kazarin, the Deputy Director General of SPbAEP, focused attention of the Estonian experts on features of the design which ensure safety of the plant operation. “The Baltic NPP design is based on operating experience of VVER reactors at NPPs in Russia and abroad, and is an evolutionary design in many respects. Its safety systems structure follows the four-channel arrangement being implemented in projects under construction and operation. With that, the design provides for special engineering features intended for beyond design basis accident management, i.e. core melt trap, hydrogen evacuation system, primary circuit overpressure protection, passive heat removal system through steam generators, passive heat removal system from the containment,” Kazarin clarified.

Questions from the Estonian experts covered the entire sat of design solutions of Baltic NPP with a focus placed on their compliance with “post-Fukushima” safety standards. The Estonian side also proposed to discuss in detail prospects of electricity supplies to potential consumers from Baltic NPP.

“After events at Fukushima-I NPP all Russian plants, as well as designs of plants under construction have been thoroughly studies as to their compliance with the safety standards which became mandatory after the occurrence in Japan. Results of the studies have shown that at our operating plants, moreover, at plants which are under construction and pertain to Generation III+, recurrence of a Fukushima scenario is impossible. Not least because in Russia on a site which is similar or close to Fukushima site in terms of characteristics a nuclear power plant wouldn’t have ever been built even,” Boyarkin noted.

The Estonian side confirmed that representatives of ROSATOM had given answers to all questions asked by the experts. “In spite of the fact that the Russian Federation has not ratified the Espoo Convention, our consultations were carried out in the atmosphere of trust and constructive attitude. I hope that in future, if a necessity to have such meetings arises, the Russian side will demonstrate the same openness,” Margus Rava, a representative for energy and climate affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in his concluding address.

“Providing the Baltic NPP project information to the bordering states, ROSATOM is guided by provisions and recommendations of the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo Convention). ROSATOM has always expressed readiness, at a first request by foreign colleagues, to provide necessary information on Baltic NPP, and in future we are ready to give additional clarifications,” Igor Konyshev, the Director of the Regional Liaison Office of ROSATOM noted.